Christmas is that unique time of year when all Christian nations celebrate the birth of Jesus; The Prince of Peace. The Christmas season is something that continues to inspire hope of “Peace on earth, to those of good will,” a time when people reflect on those things most real and of most value in our lives. And while the emphasis properly is the Christ in Christmas, Saint Nicholas has become such a part of the celebration of the birth of Jesus it is nearly impossible to separate the two; so much so that some years ago I wrote a column about this and each December since then I have continued to share it with readers:

Two of the most endearing qualities of a child are trust and imagination. They will believe in magic, they thrill to stories of fairies and enchanted lands. Christmas, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, stories of birds and animals, enchanted islands and forests; these are the domain of childhood.

We don't forsake these things in adulthood. We continue to want our Merlins, Camelots, and enchanted glades. As parents, we enjoy making things like Santa with his elves and reindeer, that magical fairyland of the North Pole and letters to Santa real to our children. All too quickly we find ourselves adults and learn of the fantasies of childhood, but the intent of parents in wanting their children taught and exposed to the myths is the innocence of goodness.

Santa is the ultimate angel to a child. There isn't the slightest trace of evil connected to Santa; he could never do anything wrong or anything to hurt a child. Santa believes in children, in the innocence of childhood. Our desire, as adults, to believe in angels follows the same pattern. We grow into adulthood and have to leave the myth of Santa, but we desperately want to continue holding on to what Santa represents.

The history of Santa Claus is quite interesting. He is generally thought to derive from Saint Nicholas, the bishop of Myra about the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century. However, while no written document attests of this, legends surround the bishop who became the patron saint of children and sailors, and these legends and devotion to the saint penetrated into every part of the world.

Early Protestant Dutch settlers in what was to become New York replaced St. Nicholas (Sinter Claes in Dutch) with Santa Claus. The change to Father Christmas began in Germany and extended into other countries through the Reformed Churches. No other saint of the church has the popularity of St. Nicholas when it comes to children. Moreover, none other made the transition through the Reformation to acceptability in Protestantism.

The emphasis of Santa relating to children is the basis of his enduring popularity. He personifies the love of children and the best of childhood as no other figure, historical or mythological.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Who will forget these words to a little girl written by Francis Church for the New York Sun in 1897? His concluding words to little Virginia:

“Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance, to make tolerable this existence...the eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished...The most real things in the world are those that neither children or men can see.

“Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world. Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”

Do I believe in Santa Claus? Of course! I couldn't be a poet otherwise; I would lose the best part of the man that makes me so, the child within. The Christmas season with the distinctive music and decorations, the buying of gifts, the celebration of the hope of peace on earth, is something none of us would want to lose. Singing Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas celebrate the season. Children write letters to Santa and hang stockings with care and we watch A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. We have added The Grinch to the story of Scrooge, there is now a Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, The Little Drummer Boy, Rudolph and so many more with all the innocence, charm and fantasy of childhood.

The story of the North Pole, Santa's home and the workshop of elves, the magic of Santa's being able to visit every home with a child in a single night, going down chimneys, his Ho, Ho, Ho, children leaving cookies and milk for him and, very important, Santa knows if you have been bad or good, naughty or nice. Believing in Santa is as natural to a child as faith and prayer. George Beverly Shea sings a beautiful song: If I Could Pray as a Child Again. How many of us, as adults, haven't wished for this?

Childhood is of so very short duration, such a short time in which to teach and encourage children in the things that will prepare them for adulthood. The whole concept of Santa is one of the things that will do this. We know that all too soon our children will face the realities of the denouement of Santa. Nevertheless, the lesson of goodness and the memory of the magic and innocence of childhood, like the healing power of a mother's kiss, should remain. Of the greatest importance is the fact that Santa loves all children no matter the physical or mental differences, the race, religion or geography. This is what children learn from Santa.

The non-Christian world recognizes the Jolly Old Elf, separating him from sectarian religious beliefs. He is welcome in Turkey, China, Cuba, and even Iraq! And unlike the cruel religious wars of Judaism, Christianism, and Islamism, none have ever been fought over Santa Claus. To my Christian acquaintances I would say Santa is not the enemy of Christ; quite the contrary. Santa epitomizes the very essence of the Gospel. How I wish the emphasis of Santa on children was practiced in the churches.

One Christmas, a store displayed Santa hanging on a cross. Many people were outraged but the storeowner said he was only trying to make people aware of how commercialized the season had become. The philosophical aspect of this revolves around the substitution of Santa for Christ. People would yawn over a crucifix, but Santa? Perhaps, I say to myself, this may be the result of the virtually non-controversial universality of the goodness of Santa versus an image that separates people and one that has been steeped in controversy and bloodshed for nearly two thousand years and is still on going?

Some of you will remember a song, Green Christmas, by Stan Frieberg years ago that satirized the season. Many radio stations would not play it. However, Frieberg was only following Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that made the name Scrooge a household word. But many religious people reviled Dickens because the emphasis of the story, as with Frieberg's song, was on the spirit of human goodness rather than Christ, who while epitomizing human goodness in too many cases has been distorted by religious beliefs. The larger view of the whole of humankind to which the Gospel makes a universal appeal is lost to such critics. It would be interesting indeed to know the thoughts of that early Bishop of Myra about this turn of events. But unlike religious sectarianism Santa became an expression of goodness, hope and belief that transcends all sectarianism because he is the champion of children and childhood.

Children are the basis upon which the peoples of the world can come together and coalesce for the common good of humankind… once children are made the proper priority of all nations. It is far past time that humankind grew out of and overcame sectarian hatreds. Santa represents what the attitude of all adults should be toward children and childhood devoid of any evil.

Henry Adams said: “Politics, as a practice, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.” Had it not been for his era, I think Adams would have included religion in the statement. But only a poet or a child would point to Santa as another direction for humankind. No matter what opinion one holds, the need to believe is there in all of us. And that best part of us responds to the beliefs of the innocence of childhood Santa represents.