Who is Santa Claus?

Who Is Santa Claus?

By Kristofer C. Kringle

People often ask who Santa Claus really is. Some picture a red coat and a white beard. Others think of sleigh bells, reindeer, cookies and Christmas Eve. All of that has its place, but the truth is much simpler—and much more

important.

More than a hundred years ago, in 1912, Edwin Osgood Grover put into words something I have always known in my heart. His piece was called “Who Is Santa Claus?” and it has stayed with me ever since. Not because it needed changing, but because it tells the truth.

These are his words:

Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy,

who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows,

who shares his joys with those who are sad,

whose hand is never closed against the needy,

whose arm is ever outstretched to aid the weak,

whose sympathy is quick and genuine in time of trouble,

who recognizes a comrade and brother in every man he meets upon life’s common road,

who lives his life throughout the entire year in the Christmas spirit.

If you read those words closely, you will notice something important.

They are not about me.

They are about you.

Santa Claus is not defined by a suit, or a sleigh, or one night a year. Santa Claus is defined by how we treat one another—especially when it would be easier not to. By the choices we make when no one is watching. By the way we open our hearts, our hands, and our homes.

In the small towns and communities across Southern Indiana, I see Santa Claus everywhere.

I see him in neighbors who look out for one another.

I see him in those who give quietly, without expecting thanks.

I see Santa in parents teaching their children kindness, and in children learning it by watching.

I see Santa in those who show up—again and again—for their family, their church, their town.

Santa Claus gives not only what he has, but who he is. Sometimes that gift is time. Sometimes it is patience. Sometimes it is simply listening. Often, it is just being there when someone needs you most.

Santa Claus shares joy, but he also shares sorrow. He does not turn away from hardship. He does not close his hand to the needy or his heart to the hurting. He recognizes that every person he meets is walking the same road—just carrying a different burden. And Santa Claus does not pack all of this away when the decorations come down.

He lives the Christmas spirit all year long.

That spirit is found in forgiveness. In humility. In compassion. In choosing love when the world

feels hard. It is found in believing that small acts of kindness matter—because they do.

If you have ever helped someone without being asked, you have been Santa Claus.

If you have ever comforted someone who was hurting, you have been Santa Claus.

If you have ever chosen kindness over anger, generosity over indifference, hope over fear—you have been Santa Claus.

The magic of Christmas has never belonged to one man.

It belongs to all of us.

My hope is that we remember this—not just in December, but every day of the year. If we live

these words, if we carry this spirit forward, then Santa Claus will never fade away.

He will live on in our homes, our towns, and our communities—warming hearts, lighting the

way, and reminding the world what Christmas was always meant to be.

— Kristofer C. Kringle

(The Santa Claus Fellowship)