I always remember there being something fishy about Santa Claus. When I was sick during Christmas one time Santa made a special visit to me. When I asked to see his reindeer he said they couldn’t come because there “wasn’t enough snow.” At the time, I was living in Utah; there was easily two and a half feet of snow on the ground outside.
As I grew older and investigated the matter, I found out that St. Nicholas, on whom Santa Claus is based, was a real person who was present at the Council of Nicea, which produced the Nicene Creed recited at every Catholic Mass. Of course, St. Nicholas didn’t climb down chimneys or make reindeer fly, but he became a symbol for good will, generosity and peace.
A lot of the historical details were too complicated for me, or children my age, to grasp though, so we’re told about a man in a red suit instead, knowing that the more complex information is available for mature adults if they want to learn about it. The story is based on fact though, and even if it’s not historically truthful to St. Nicholas, both the historical truth and the symbol has evolved into an important part of the Christmas tradition.
The same holds true for the story of the nativity. If you were raised Christian (or watched A Charlie Brown’s Christmas) then you’re probably familiar with the mainstream nativity story which includes birth in a manger, the wise men, singing Angels, and shepherds.
The polls in Newsweek show that a grand majority of Americans believe that this nativity is historical fact. The poll is unrevealing though, because it doesn’t ask if people accept parts of the story or the entire story. For instance, Jesus’ birth (which is confirmed by Roman records) is affirmed by all Christians since Christianity is an historical religion. A kindly inn-keeper may not be accepted by that same majority. There is no way to express that in the poll that Newsweek took.
This is important, because the fact that Jesus was born for Christians is just as essential as his life and ministry. The other details aren’t as essential. All autobiographies of great people include their birth and early life. This should be undoubtedly true of the man on which Christianity is based.
Christians accept on faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. However, some disagree on when that ownership of Jesus by God occurred. From the Gospel of John, we get before time, from Matthew and Luke we get his birth, the Gospel of Mark tells us it’s the moment of his baptism and the early Christian writings assert that it wasn’t until the event of his Resurrection.
The Resurrection is an essential element of the Christian faith because it is the moment when our salvation was guaranteed. It was the founding moment of Christianity. However, the events of Jesus’ birth reflect the same importance. There couldn’t have been a resurrection without a birth. The birth of Jesus has also come to symbolize love, tenderness, peace and salvation. As Linus would say, “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”
Even if the nativity story is not always based on fact, I don’t think anyone would want to loose that symbolism by killing the story. The nativity is a simpler story than the debates that surround it, yet the message hasn’t sunk in (as evinced by the state of the world). This is reason enough to keep the narrative in the tradition as is, even though I encourage everyone to learn as much as possible about the history of the faith as well.
The facts may never be worked out amongst scholars simply because we can’t go back in time to verify the narratives. Believers should be aware of this trial and what the facts may be, but this debate will probably continue until the end of time. In the meantime, when the facts are not accessible, the symbolism provided by the nativity is.
In my Saints and Sinners class with Dr. Lakeland I was told that some books are factual and some books are true. Happily, the Bible is a true book, symbolic in a lot of ways, but also based on fact. For a religion to transcend and continue, which Christianity has, I think that’s the way it should be.
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