This video is not about whether or not Santa Claus is real, but about where he came from. Let’s talk about the origins of Santa Claus!
Douglas loves Christmas, and he was reading in his Bible about the story of Christmas when he realized something: Santa isn’t in the Bible! His grandma helped him research all sorts of things about Santa Claus, because he really wanted to know who Santa is, and what he has to do with Christmas.
There are lots of different names for Santa Claus, like Sinter Klaas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, and many more. But Santa Claus’ REAL name is Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas (Νικόλαος) was born in AD 270 in the country now called Turkey. He was born to a wealthy family, but his parents died when he was young. Even from an early age, Nicholas loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him. When he was older, he became a bishop, and was in charge of many churches. Saint Nicholas was famous for his generosity, especially to children. There are many stories about Saint Nicholas, but one of the most famous is about how he secretly gave money to a man and his three daughters. A long time ago, if a woman wanted to get married, she needed something called a dowry, which was basically just money to give a start to her and her husband’s life together. And back in the time of Saint Nicholas, it was very hard for women to have a good life if they were not married. Well, there was a man who had three daughters and no money, so it looked like his daughters would have a very bad life, because they had no dowries to get married. When Saint Nicholas heard about this, he secretly threw three bags of money through their window at night, because he knew the man was proud and would be ashamed to accept the money. According to some versions of this story, the bags of money landed in the girls’ stockings that they had hung by the fireplace to dry. There are also stories about Saint Nicholas performing miracles in Jesus’ name, including raising people from the dead. He was an inspiring man. And whether you believe in Santa Claus or not, the origins of Santa Claus start with Saint Nicholas, who was a real person who really loved his Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s all follow the example of Saint Nicholas and live lives of generosity, and show God’s love to everyone we meet. Merry Christmas!
The Christmas Story, Found in the Bible (there aren’t any verses about the origins of Santa Claus):
- Luke 1:26-38 | Mary told about Jesus’ birth
- Matthew 1:18-24 | Joseph told about Jesus’ birth
- Luke 2:1-21 | The birth of Jesus
- Matthew 2:1-12 | The wise men
Family Time Questions About Christmas Prophecies:
• Where does the story of Santa Claus come from?
• What do you think Saint Nicholas would say is the most important part of Christmas?
• What are some ways that we can try to be like Saint Nicholas?
Would You Like to Download this Video?
This video and mini-devotional are free to download for use in your ministry. Click the buttons below to download.
Suggested Donation: $10
We want to make sure that there is no barrier keeping people from using our content to teach kids about Jesus. With that in mind, even though $10 is a fair price for downloading this video, we’ve chosen to make it free to download from this page. We are only able to keep making these videos because of the grace of God and the generosity of the less than 0.2% of our viewers who choose to support us financially. If you are blessed by the ministry of Douglas Talks, would you consider making a donation? Every little bit helps!
Terms of Use:
Video Permissions
If you choose to download this video, you have our permission to:
- Display this video during in-person gatherings (such as during church or in a classroom), unless you charge a fee to watch (don’t sell tickets to watch this video).
- Include this video as a part (not the whole) of any video lessons you livestream and/or upload to your website or social media page, unless you charge a fee for access. Do not upload this video to your website or social media page if this video is more than 75% of your upload. For example, this video may be a part of your 45-minute Sunday school lesson that you livestream on Facebook and then upload to your church’s YouTube channel, but you may not upload this video by itself to your website or social media page. If you want to share this video by itself, simply post a link to this webpage or this video on the Douglas Talks YouTube channel.
- Alter or make additions to this video for use in your ministry, such as translating and dubbing, adding captions, or even editing out a portion you disagree with.
If you wish to include this video in your product or service (such as a Sunday school curriculum or a video streaming website), please contact us at info@douglastalks.com to discuss.
PDF Permissions
Feel free to use this mini-devotional PDF however you would like, outside of commercial purposes. Make copies, share within your organization, post on social media, etc. Just don’t sell it.