Who is St. Nicholas?

St. Nicholas was born around 270 AD in Asia Minor, located in modern day Turkey. Though not much is known for certain about his life, his remarkable generosity is undisputed. Nicholas was born into a devout Christian family, and when his parents died, he sold off their belongings and distributed his inheritance among the poor. Nicholas became a priest, and eventually the Bishop of Myra, purportedly attending the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, from which the Nicene Creed (“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty….”)—recited weekly in churches around the world—comes.

Perhaps the most famous story about St. Nicholas is that of the “Three Sisters and the Gold Coins.” Nicholas heard of a man who had three daughters, but no money to pay for their dowry. With no prospect of a husband or employment, these girls would have likely been forced into a life of prostitution. Nicholas heard of their plight, and threw a bag of gold coins—the cost of one dowry—through their open window one night. He did the same thing the next two nights, and the three sisters were saved from a life of misery. There are many stories like this of his secret gift-giving, and his love of children in particular.

Eventually, he was named a saint, and his feast day was set for December 6, when children around the world set shoes or stockings out for St. Nicholas to fill.

How is St. Nicholas Related to Santa Claus?

The name Santa Claus comes from Sinterklass, which is Dutch for Saint Nicholas. St. Nicholas is Santa Claus. How St. Nicholas evolved from a Turkish Bishop to a jolly white man with flying reindeer and workshop in the North Pole is a very long and interesting story for another time. I’ll link to some great resources for further reading below!

When it comes to the question of Santa Claus and St. Nicholas Day, there are two lines you can take as I see it:

St. Nicholas is solely a historical figure and does not give gifts today: You can tell your children that Santa Claus as conveyed in popular culture does not exist, but there was a man named St. Nicholas who did. While we have a lot to learn and celebrate about him, he does not fill their stockings or bring presents. This is just a fun tradition, and you fill their stockings in the spirit of St. Nicholas.
St. Nicholas was a historical figure who continues to give gifts today: You can tell your children that St. Nicholas was a bishop who lived long ago and spread the love of God by giving gifts in secret. Though he died, he lives in Heaven with God now and still continues to give gifts, and fill stockings on St. Nicholas Day. This allows for children to experience the wonder of Santa Claus while staying true to who St. Nicholas really was and is, and keeping it centered on the faith.

How We Celebrate St. Nicholas Day

We have pursued the second option with our family, and here’s how we do it…

It’s probably more popular to set out shoes on the eve of St. Nicholas Day, but we’ve decided to do stockings in our house. On December 6, the girls wake up to their stockings filled with small goodies which always include:

Chocolate coins (after the story of St. Nicholas and the gold coins)
A clementine (a tradition that symbolizes the gold coins given in the dowry as well as the food St. Nicholas would give to those in need)
One dollar (for the girls to give away to someone in need just as St. Nicholas did with his inheritance)
A candy cane to symbolize the bishop’s crozier (the stick that looks like a shepherd’s staff)
Other small treats

Some years, we have had St. Nicholas come on Christmas as well, leaving a single gift for them, but since we are traveling this year, I don’t think we’ll do that again. Either way, our main focus is his feast day, December 6.

We always read our favorite St. Nicholas book, The Legend of St. Nicholas, and have the girls go through their toys and clothes to donate to those in need. Some years, we don’t have much to donate, so we purchase something for a toy drive. Oh, and there are also TONS of fun St. Nicholas crafts to do.

At dinner or bedtime, we offer a prayer of thanks for St. Nicholas:

“God of joy and cheer,
we thank you for your servant,
the good bishop Nicholas.
In loving the poor,
he showed us your kindness;
in caring for your children,
he revealed your love.
Make us thoughtful
without need of reward
so that we, too, may be faithful followers of Jesus.”

Answering Children’s Questions About St. Nicholas

If you choose to have it be St. Nicholas who fills your kids’ stockings and/or brings gifts, they are going to have a lot of questions. They were going to have a lot of questions about Santa Claus anyways, but the questions about St. Nicholas vs. Santa Claus are going to be different in kind. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here are some that have been helpful to me. Kendra Tierney’s book has been very helpful to me in thinking through how to do Santa without lying to your kids, and I’ll link to her blog below.

Who is St. Nicholas? St. Nicholas was a Bishop (like a priest or pastor) who lived a very long time ago and loved God and people very much—especially children. He was very generous, always giving away money and food to those in need, but he always did it in secret because he wanted people to give glory to God instead of himself.

Then who is Santa Claus? Santa Claus just comes from the Dutch word for St. Nicholas. Santa Claus means Saint Nicholas and they are the same person. But because he lived so long ago, we don’t know a lot about him for certain. We just have the stories that are passed down to us through the years. Sometimes people have different stories about who he was. It’s fine for them to believe that. What’s important is that we remember the basics: A bishop who loved God and gave to others in secret.

Where does St. Nicholas live now? Like all people who die and love God, St. Nicholas now lives in heaven with God. He is still doing God’s work of loving others even from heaven and secretly giving gifts to people.

What about the North Pole? We don’t really know for sure, but some people say he has a workshop in the North Pole even though he lives in heaven.

What about Mrs. Clause? There’s no record of a Mrs. Claus and typically Bishops weren’t allowed to marry, but we don’t know everything about St. Nicholas’s life, so it’s possible there is a Mrs. Claus.

Why does he come to our house on December 6 but to other people only on December 25? St. Nicholas comes an extra day for people who celebrate his feast day. Isn’t that awesome?!

What about flying reindeer, getting around the world in one night, and other seemingly impossible feats? Saint’s stories are full of miracles of God: slaying dragons, healing the sick, taming wolves—so it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think that a saint might, in God’s power, get around the world in one night, or have reindeer that fly!

Is the Santa we see in the mall the real St. Nicholas? Probably not. They are probably people who are spreading God’s love on St. Nicholas’ behalf.

But won’t children have a crisis of faith in God once they realize St. Nicholas isn’t real? Well, first of all, St. Nicholas IS real ;) He was a faithful man of God who lives in heaven with God now. So I don’t think there’s a crisis of faith to be had. Once my children are old enough, I will explain to them how Jesus ascended to heaven where he lives with God, and the church is called to be his hands and feet on earth. In a similar way, St. Nicholas lives in heaven with God and Jesus, and we continue giving secret gifts on his behalf, spreading the love of God to others.

These are by no means perfect answers, but they’re as honest and straightforward as I’ve been able to work out, and they’ve served us fine so far. When confronted with a question I don’t know how to answer (like when Amelia asked me if the Santa at the store the other day was the real St. Nicholas), I often say, “What do you think?” It’s usually pretty fun to hear their answer!

I hope you feel freedom to celebrate St. Nicholas and know that you are not lying to your children or overshadowing “the reason for the season"—rather, you are showing your children how one faithful man loved Jesus, and how they can do it too!

Further Resources

St. Nicholas Center: This website is the BEST resource out there for all things St. Nicholas—crafts, history, prayers, stories, and more.

St. Nicholas and the Origin of Santa

How to do Santa without Lying to Your Kids by Kendra Tierney