Santa Claus is St Nicholas!

 With the feast of St Nicholas coming up tomorrow, 

I thought today would be a good day 

to talk about him.

This is our sweet Colette above with St Nicholas.

Look at her expression and his happy face!!

Oh, the innocence of a child at Christmas, it brings tears to my eyes.

I know there is quite a controversial thing with Santa Claus among parents these days.

And some people get down right huffy about it.

(they are usually the same people who think nothing about celebrating Halloween though
We celebrate Halloween, I'm just sayin')

I just really think it has to be people and their experience with him, while they were growing up.

I know my brother and his wife don't celebrate "Santa" because she felt betrayed by her parents

when she found out, and I remember my brother running upstairs crying "Noooooo!" when he 

found out about Santa.

They didn't want to lie to their children.

When I found out about Santa, my cousin Terry told me, right before Christmas,

 I was in second grade.

I remember asking my mom about it and her sitting on the steps with me, 

I remember her having that look of disappointment and well, she told me.

It was and is still the best Christmas I've ever had.

I couldn't believe my parents loved me that much to actually buy us "extra" presents.

I felt so loved as I helped her set out Santa stuff for my brother and baby sister.

Now, because of my experience, this is how we've told our kiddos.

My 2 oldest know and it was told in this way,

"Because we love you so much...."

I really don't think he takes away from the true meaning of Christmas, 

at least not with us.

Jesus is the reason and my kids know that.  

Santa is just about joy and the love he has for children and the love he has for Baby Jesus.

Santa Claus is St Nicholas, who lives in Heaven, and has no wife.

The kids think that is pretty funny how the world changes something that 

started out so religious and has deep meaning, into something that is not.

We actually don't usually go to Santa and sit on his lap and tell what we want...

Because we don't focus on the gifts, I throw away all those magazines I get in the mail 

each night...I'm not saying they don't look before I do this, because they do, but our focus is not just the gifts.

We buy the kiddos a couple gifts from us to open Christmas Eve 

after we've gone to Mass

and 

they get one gift from Santa Claus with stocking stuff Christmas morning.

(we happened to be at Sam's Club and there was no line, and it was free, and the girls looked at me

like "Can we?"  Now, how could I resist?  Then, we had to go back of course for Colette, since 

she was not with me!)

 We have a little statue like this sitting out for Christmas 

And one of our favorite Christmas stories is this one about 

St Nicholas in Heaven, with all the angels, getting ready for the birth of Christ.

Santa has his toys and his bag and his sleigh, 

but he stops for what is most important first

to see Jesus in the Manger and kneels down in Adoration.

Life is totally what we make of it 

and how it is portrayed, especially to our children.

Any huffy people out there? 

What do you think and how is this portrayed to your children?

And

why do you believe and celebrate the way you do?

I honestly have no judgements here, I really think to each his own on this controversial Santa issue.

It's fun to see other people's traditions and why they do the things they do to make 

Christmas special.

For fun ideas of how to make St Nicholas day special go to Catholic Cuisine, some of the ideas are even mine!

So tonite we will put out our church shoes (they are the cleanest ones) 

and St Nicholas will come and fill them with chocolate coins and candy 

and in the morning we will read about St Nicholas and his love for all.

Especially Jesus.