What Kind of Santa Do You Want?

I have kind of mixed feelings about Santa Claus. Sure, I liked him when I was a kid, but now that I’m an adult a part of me doesn’t see the point anymore. In fact, like a lot of people I’m turned off by how much he’s used for Christmas specials and advertisements. I think the thing that bothers me about Santa the most is how GENERIC he’s become. Red suit trimmed with white fur, belt, hat beard, reindeer. Very little variation. Cultural staple. Everybody knows who he is.

It’s kind of aggravating to think that this version of Santa Claus came from just a handful of texts written in the nineteenth century that were popularized for mass consumption. Sure, Clement C. Moore’s The Night Before Christmas sets up the stereotypes that we’ve come to associate with Santa. But does anyone ever stop and think about how this most commonly-used version of Santa is based on a single person’s interpretation?

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The popular thing to do these days, of course, is to reject the mainstream narrative. The patron of holiday gift-giving can be whoever you want it to be and need it to be. Or you can reject having one at all. I’ve had a few people in my acquaintance reject Santa Claus or try to at least minimize how much their kids are exposed to him. Someday I will be a mom with kids, and my future spouse and I are going to have influence over who our kids think is bringing their presents. We’re going to be picking which holiday specials they watch, we’ll pick the Christmas music they listen to on the radio, we’ll have the final say over whether or not they go to visit the generic guy in the suit who comes to appears at holiday social functions. It’s a huge responsibility. But the sky is the limit.

What kind of a Santa do I want to believe in, if at all? One interpretation of Santa Claus that has stuck out to me in recent years is North from Rise of the Guardians. Yes, he is a hardcore Russian guy with tattoos and swords and he’s got dark fur on his coat. But the most important thing about North is his center. One thing I liked about Rise of the Guardians’ interpretation of the holidays is that every Guardian has a center, something immaterial that they represent or value. If you look at it one way, their center is politically correct, but they can be open to religious interpretation too (which is also why I’m a fan of Bunny’s center, Hope). North’s center, which he explains so well to Jack Frost, is wonder. One thing I’ve come to appreciate about Christmas in recent years is its wonder. Wonder at new-fallen snow. Wonder at how the decorations and lights add beauty to the world. Wonder at the events of the coming of the Christ child. Wonder at the gifts that came because of the birth of Christ. In April 2015, Elder Gerard Causse gave an address to LDS General Conference about not taking the Gospel for granted. Christmas is an important celebration because it reminds us of the wonder and awe and reverence we need to have for those gifts.

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So whoever I want my Santa Claus to be, I know he has to represent the wonder of Christmas. Santa Claus doesn’t really fit with the magic systems I’ve played with in recent years (which is one reason he’s lost relevance to me). I really like Santa figurines or tree-toppers where we see Santa wearing longer robes. Or clothes in colors other than red with elaborate patterns. When I was a kid, the cheesy typical Santa Claus was acceptable. Now that I’m an adult, I want to picture him a little differently. A figure that represents the wonder of Christmas. A figure that represents awe and reverence.

Maybe my Santa is a little more like the traditional Saint Nicholas. When I was in kindergarten, we took a field trip to a place to meet a traditional German Saint Nicholas who wore a simple red robe and who handed out switches to bad children. For a day or so after I would tell people I preferred to believe in Saint Nicholas. Didn’t last long, but it made an impression on me.

Have I thought about figures that could replace Santa in my future home? Well, maybe not replace Santa outright but other traditions that I could incorporate or celebrate.

I like Father Christmas. He's got a less obnoxious vibe to me than Santa Claus. I like how C.S. Lewis uses him in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. He isn’t named in the movie but he brings important gifts to the children, and his appearance heralds the coming of Aslan. (And then Lucy’s line ‘Told you he was real’ in the movie is perfection). J.R.R. Tolkien’s approach to Father Christmas was a little more personal. During the 1930s he wrote a series of letters as Father Christmas to his children, detailing how he and his assistants got the presents out and their work during the year. I recently bought my own copy of The Father Christmas letters and brought it home to share with my family. I highly recommend it. It’s a completely different universe/world system from Middle-earth, and it’s more kid-friendly, but Tolkein got a kick out of world-building no matter what, and there’s an elegance to Tolkein’s Father Christmas on its own. I like Father Christmas less because I’m an Anglophile and more because of how these authors have presented him to me.

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I’m also huge fan of anything Russian. There were a couple of girls in a singles ward I was in a few years ago who had served missions in Russia and they introduced me to Ded Moroz and Snegorouchka--Father Frost and Snow Maiden. At their 2013 concert the Mormon Tabernacle Choir did a Russian-themed medley for the dance ensemble. Kind of random, considering the Dickens/British vibe of the concert, but part of the medley was the tumblers’ dance from the Snow Maiden ballet. Ruth Sanderson’s storybook The Snow Maiden is a beautiful retelling of the Snow Maiden legend. I’m no expert on how Father Frost and Snow Maiden are used in Russia, but they’re a lot prettier than Santa Claus.  Snegorouchka especially adds a needed female element to how I want to celebrate Christmas. I will at least tell my kids about them.

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I can see the appeal of the Three Kings/Three Wise men in other cultures, since they are directly a part of the traditional nativity. And there’s something to be said for the Farandole/Three Kings dance in last year’s Tab Choir Christmas concert. But they’re not my first pick.

Now here’s an idea I’ve been playing with for the last couple of years: the three Ghosts from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This is what I get for writing a term paper on A Christmas Carol for my Victorian literature class in college, but bear with me. The Three Spirits could totally work as mythical Christmas figures. The Ghost of Christmas Past encourages reflection on your Christmas memories. The Ghost of Christmas Present represents being connected with friends and family and how they are observing the season. Maybe the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come doesn’t work so well for kids, but maybe it is an appropriate reminder of what happens if you don’t let the Spirit of Christmas into your heart. Maybe they could be for adults. They’re cooler than Santa by a long shot. And in the 2013 Tab Choir Concert John Rhys-Davies took on the mantle of Christmas Present to lecture a young Dickens. Why the Ghost of Christmas Present should anybody else is beyond me.

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There are still some things to be said for the stereotypical Santa. I am also a fan of the Santa in the CBS Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. He’s got an interesting rapport with Mrs. Claus, and he’s conscious about not being fat enough to please the children. The Kris Kringle song is one of my favorites.

How about Calvin and Hobbes? Calvin is a sincere believer in Santa Claus but his issue is how he’s a bad kid and he’s afraid of being punished for his bad behavior with a lack of toys. He questions Santa but it doesn’t occur to him to reject him. That’s what makes Calvin a believable kid. Santa does make occasional appearances in the strip but more as a manifestation of Calvin’s anxieties.

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Over the years, my mom has told me repeatedly that she still believes in Santa Claus because of what he embodies. To me, Santa Claus, in his purest, most non-commercial form, regardless of appearance, is someone who gives. Someone who treats all children with fairness. Someone who acts with kindness. Someone who reminds us of the wonder of the Season. The Real Santa Claus is the Santa who kneels before the Manger and remembers what his job is truly about.  

(And like I said, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are his favorite helpers). To paraphrase the famous letter to Virginia, yes, there is a Santa Claus in the sense that the things he truly represents--the things you can’t see or feel or prove--also exist.

Jolly Ol' Saint Nicholas

It’s a choice to believe in Santa, even when you’re still awake on Christmas Eve night and you can hear your parents setting out your gifts. But the more important thing to choose is to believe in for yourself is what Santa represents.