Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas and Modern Mythology

Last updated on: May 28, 2014 at 10:38 am by Dan Wilkinson

Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas and Modern Mythology 2014-05-28T10:38:54-06:00 Dan Wilkinson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Every Christmas we’re treated to a slew of articles and blog posts and books about the “real” Santa Claus. We love to try to get behind the modern, secular, commercial mythology and discover the “true” Christian foundation of Jolly Old Saint Nick.

The most popular modern story about the historical Saint Nicholas places him as the 4th-century Bishop of Myra. Due to that position, he was called upon to be part of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD and it was at that council that Nicholas, in passionate opposition to Arius’ understanding of Jesus as being subordinate to God, came over to Arius and slapped him in the face, thus causing an almost inconceivable breach of decorum.

So we have a neat Christmas story about the real Santa Claus being a staunch defender of Christian orthodoxy — and what’s more Christian than eschewing commercialism and embracing dogmatism?

But here’s the problem: that story about St. Nick is decidedly uncertain. It seems likely that there was a Nicholas who was Bishop of Myra in the 4th century. But the earliest records from Nicaea don’t list him in attendance. Those records are incomplete, so he may have been there — but we don’t have good evidence proving he was there. And, more importantly, we have no first-hand account of the Arius-slapping event. That colorful confrontation doesn’t crop up as part of Saint Nicholas’ biography until hundreds of years later, and then it’s mixed in with many other extraordinary events that we’re certain didn’t happen.

Given the paucity of reliable historical information about the life of Saint Nicholas, it seems wise to withhold rendering judgment on the matter. If Snopes were to investigate the story of Saint Nicholas slapping Arius they’d have to categorize it as “undetermined.”

Unfortunately, most modern “historical” accounts of the life of Saint Nicholas generally offer no citations of primary sources and scant citations of any sources at all. Rather, this alternate mythology surrounding Nicholas is passed on as straightforward “fact” with virtually no historical evidence.

It’s good to seek out the truth behind our myths, but we should guard against simply supplanting one myth with another, valuing its supposed truth merely because it accords better with our pre-existing beliefs. Like it or not, we have more evidence that a modern Santa Claus delivers gifts through chimneys than that Saint Nicholas slapped Arius at the First Council of Nicaea.

Dan Wilkinson
Dan is a writer, graphic designer and IT specialist. He lives in Montana, is married and has two cats. He blogs at CoolingTwilight.com.

Christian History

saint nicholas

santa claus

Previous Post

December 18, 2013

A love "bigger than two": one polyamorous relationship

Next Post

December 23, 2013 Christmas Comes But Once a Year

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Christian History Christian Issues Christian Spirituality Current Events Fundamentalism Islam John Shore LGBT Movie Reviews Poetry Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz