Yes, Archdiocese of Boston, there is a Santa Claus!
As the father of children who are 11, 9, 7, and 3, I’ve already faced this question. And while skillfully yet truthfully avoiding the question of who leaves out the presents on Christmas Eve, my wife & I do our best at pointing towards the real figure behind Santa Claus: St. Nicholas of Myra (c. 270-383). We do so most especially because our oldest daughter is named Nicolina, which is the Italian feminine diminutive of Nicholas, and whose feast day we celebrated on December 6th.
I won’t recount what the entire tradition has attributed to St. Nicholas (you can read that here), but I will only write that one reason for his universal popularity among Christians is attributed to his generosity and his particular affection for the poor; hence, the custom of giving gifts on his feast day or in his name on Christmas day. According to tradition, there was a widower in poverty with three daughters of increasingly marriageable age. Upon the marriageable age of the first daughter, and fearing the worst for the poverty-stricken father, St. Nicholas threw what amounted to a dowry through his window; which reportedly landed in a stocking. The Bishop of Myra did the same for the second and third daughters upon their reaching marriable age. With the last daughter, the father – now anticipating the treasured gift – waited up for St. Nicholas to arrive; a definite no-no in my household!!! The father beseeched the bishop as to why he was keeping his identity secret and, of course, St. Nicholas responded with several verses from the Gospels, such as: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt 6:3-4).
The Christmas season is famous for being the ‘season of giving.’ I hope, for Christians, this doesn’t just mean giving presents to our children. Especially here in the northeast, this can be the most difficult time of the year for the poor, the indigent, the homeless, the jobless, and the migrant. May the spirit of St. Nicholas, out of an abundant love for Christ who was made poor so that “we could become rich through his poverty” (1 Cor 8:9), pervade us all this Christmas season.
Dr. Anthony Coleman
Saint Anselm College, A.B., 1999
Boston College, A.M., 2001, Ph.D., 2014
Dr. Coleman brings more than a decade of experience working in higher education as a teacher, administrator, and scholar. Having earned a B.A. in Theology at St. Anselm College, and an M.A. in Theology and Ph.D. in Systematic Theology (with a minor in Historical Theology) at Boston College, he has taught theology at St. Joseph's College of Maine, Anna Maria College (Worcester, MA), St. Gregory's University (Shawnee, OK), and has previously served as an Associate Program Director for St. Joseph's College of Maine and Director of the Albany Campus for St. Bernard's School of Theology & Ministry. He is the author of Lactantius the Theologian (2017) and editor of Leisure and Labor: The Liberal Arts in Catholic Higher Education (2020). He is the most blessed husband of AnneMarie and a father of four. A native of Braintree, MA, Dr. Coleman is excited to be moving back home, near family, and to serve an institution that was pivotal in his own spiritual and intellectual formation.
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