by Makayla Schockemoehl

of The Gleaner 

How did you find out that Santa is fake? What if I told you he wasn’t… Mr. Jim Kuhl has an interesting take on how Santa Claus is not fake, but very much real and alive among us. He has a beautiful way of explaining the Catholic side of Santa and how he connects to us through the Eucharist. 

The first thing we must understand, according to Mr. Kuhl, is the story of Saint Nicholas and how the first ideas originated from him and his giving spirit to the poor. 

“Just as Saint Nicholas gave to the poor, Santa gives to us through our parents. Our parents are Santa for us and then we have to learn to be Santa for others, just as we are Christ-like to others,” said Kuhl.  

He continues by explaining when we receive Communion, we become the Body of Christ. Furthermore, when we receive the Eucharist, we become Christ for others. In the same way, when we receive gifts from Santa, we then have to become Santa from others. 

There are a lot of other connections between Jesus and Christmas. As we know, He is the reason from the season.

 “We don’t know exactly why Christmas is celebrated on Dec. 25, but we do know that Dec. 25 is the feast day of the sun god just like Jesus is the Light of the World. We also choose to light up evergreen trees because Jesus gives us everlasting life,” said Kuhl. 

Although there may not be a sled led through the night sky by flying reindeer holding Santa Claus and his endless bag of every possible present each kid on the entire Earth wishes for, there is a Santa Claus and he is real. He dwells among us as we live our lives just like Christ. The concept is simple, if you just believe.