Whoa!

There seems to be an assumption here that Santa Claus is not real, or is only real in a mystical "Yes Virginia" sense.

This is not the case. Santa is real, in the same way that the dog down the street is real. (Assuming that you all have a dog living somewhere on your streets...:)).

Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas as would be a better anglicization of his name, was a real person who was a bishop in Turkey and developed some fame for anonymous generosity. While some of the stories being circulated around him now (the North Pole thing, the chimney thing) aren't factual, the existence of the man himself is.

Why not encourage your kids to find out about the historical St. Nicholas, and talk about how mythology mixes with history?

Here's the only link I could come up with in a few minutes - it's a very "hagiographical" account on an Orthodox site - but it will give you an idea of St. Nicholas, the real man.

Article about the life of St. Nicholas

Marion

Marion