The original “Santa Claus” was not the jolly man in red of modern Christmas. He was not known for riding a sleigh or having elf helpers. Our modern idea of Santa got his name from a Dutch pronunciation of “Saint Nicholas” which they call “Sinterklass” so you can probably see how the name evolved.1 It’s from this tradition that we get the white beard and red outfit and the giving of gifts.
The original Nicholas of Myra was a religious leader in the early centuries of the Christian faith. He was a bishop which means that he was given responsibility for a whole city to teach them about Christianity. He was known for his charity to the poor and for rescuing young girls from sex slavery in brothels. There’s a lot of folk lore about his life, but there is one very amusing moment which was probably more important than many realise!
In the early fourth century, a teacher named Arius had begun to teach that Jesus was not who he claimed to be. He claimed that Jesus was not God in the flesh and that he was a created being. This teaching started to spread widely and so a council was called to address the issue. Apparently, the meeting became so passionate that at one point Nicholas punched Arius in the face and had to be removed! This has resulted in a range of memes!
We’re not condoning his behaviour, but why did Nicholas get so upset about what Arius was teaching that he lost his temper? What was at stake?
In undermining the idea that Jesus was God in the flesh, Arius was compromising the main message of Christianity.
The Bible says that we need a rescuer because we have rebelled against the one who made us. We need someone who is able to take the punishment that we have earned for us so that we can receive mercy. Because the one we have offended is an infinite being, only an infinite payment is sufficient for our redemption. Only the death of a fully divine Jesus could actually pay our debt. If Jesus was not God in the flesh, his death was not enough to pay your debt or mine.
Nicholas was not right to punch Arius, but he was right to be very upset. Arius was changing the good news of Christianity by removing our only source of hope.
We can remember Nicholas for all sorts of reasons, but we can be pretty certain that if he were alive today, he would not want to be at the centre of the Christmas celebration. He knew that space should be reserved for Jesus.