I love learning the secret histories behind our beliefs and traditions. And I hope it becomes common knowledge that the watered-down, commercialized version of Santa is so much smaller than his true story.
In the year 270, a Greek boy was born in a land we now call Turkey. His name, Nikolaos, meant "People's Champion" or "Victory of the People." He lived up to his name both during his life and long after it ended.
Nikolaos was an ordinary child. But like every child, he had choices to make. When his parents died and left him a fortune, he didn't spend it on himself. He gave it away: food for hungry families, dowries so daughters wouldn't be sold into servitude, grain during a famine, safety for sailors caught in storms. He did it all in secret so no one could repay him. He simply saw that someone needed a miracle and chose to create one.
Over centuries, the stories of "Saint Nicholas the Wonder-Worker" spread, blended with old winter traditions, and slowly became the Santa Claus we know today. His body died, but his spirit lived on, inspiring centuries of secret giving.
I want children to remember:
"One ordinary child chose to be extraordinary, and that choice changed the whole world."
That's the whole point of my newest book, The True Story of Santa Claus. Magic doesn't happen to you. It happens through you. Every time you make someone's ordinary day extraordinary, a note of gratitude, a shoveled driveway, a heartfelt gift, that's how Santa continues to be real.
I want every child who questions and every adult who doubts to know that Santa is real, even more real than you ever could have imagined.
Next up: why Santa wears red, and where his North Pole workshop really came from.
A free way to start the conversation now
You don't need the book or to be ready to answer the question yet to start teaching your kids that they have the power to create magic, miracles, and joy for others. I made a free companion printable, the Miracle Maker, that walks kids through the same idea in the book: Magic doesn't happen to you, it happens through you.
It includes:
A page where your child plans their own "Secret Miracle": who they'll help, what they'll do, and how they'll keep it a secret
Conversation starters for grown ups and kids to brainstorm ideas together
A list of trusted, kid safe places to send cards, grant a child's Christmas wish, or give to a charitable cause
A Miracle Log and an official Miracle Maker certificate
Print it out, grab your kids, and let them decide how they'll make an ordinary day extraordinary for someone else. That's how Santa’s spirits continues to be real. That’s how his miracles and generosity have continued and will continue for millennia. Not because we tell kids to believe, but because we show them how to become the reason someone else does.