We’re in the middle of January blahs; a cold, quiet time of the year when we can look back on memories made during the 2024 holiday season.

Some of those memories relate to the legend of Santa Claus. By all indications, Santa had another really good year.

He delivered countless toys for children around the world with his sleigh and nine reindeer. He crawled down many narrow chimneys to place the toys next to Christmas trees.

I have my share of Santa memories. They started when I was a young child as my parents set out a cold beer and Christmas cookies for Santa on our basement family room fireplace. They were always consumed when we got up on Christmas morning.

Our stockings hung on the fireplace. The small stocking stuffer presents were always situated next to Santa’s snack. We then went upstairs to find our larger presents under the tree.

My sister and I never accidentally discovered Santa presents. That’s because my parents stored them in the basement of our senior citizen neighbors, Virgil and June Johnson.

I think Virg and June enjoyed being part of the Santa routine, part of what extended our belief in Santa at the North Pole for at least a year or two.

We had interesting questions about Santa. We were told that he could keep his suit clean by wiping it with snow. It was all right for him to sip some beer during his sleigh ride since Rudolf was guiding the sleigh.

My parents worked to keep the spirit of Santa Claus alive, until we began to be convinced that he was a legend rather than a real-life man with a red suit and a full beard.

A more recent Santa memory from my adult life was a call-in Santa evening for which I volunteered as a member of the Marshall Jaycees. The kids who participated were young. They were true believers who thought they were really calling the North Pole.

It was fun to role play Santa, to talk to the children about what they wanted for Christmas. You could hear the enthusiasm in their voices.

Each year I enjoy my favorite Santa Claus related movie. It’s called “Miracle on 34th Street” and it’s about an eccentric old man who considers himself Santa Claus.

The movie culminates in an interesting courtroom scene, which ends when huge piles of “dead letters” from the post office were delivered to the defendant. He won his case, and was then able to find a house for the young girl who believed in him.

The movie is worth watching more than once. It reflects a Santa legend that has a rich history, one that dates back to 1822.

That’s when a noted scholar named Clement Clarke Moore penned his poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas” for his children. He patterned St. Nick, the patron saint of children, after the jolly bearded caretaker of his home.

The poem was sent to the Troy Sentinel in New York and quickly gained popularity as an anonymous contribution. Moore at first didn’t acknowledge his authorship since he didn’t feel it met the standards of serious scholarship. He admitted to publishing it in 1844.

A series of pen and ink sketches by artist Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly magazine later set the standard for St. Nicholas imagery, which appears in Coca Cola advertising and in many other places.

I remember when my third-grade class had a spirited discussion about Santa Claus. Our teacher, Sandy Redding, told everyone who didn’t believe in Santa to leave the room and stand out in the hall.

Most of the class left. I stayed because I was trying to make a point with one classmate and wasn’t paying attention to the instructions. I think I’d still have stayed if I’d heard them.

The people who stayed each received a large Hershey bar. The ones who were in the hall felt like they’d been tricked, like their real world knowledge was being ignored.

It wasn’t. It was just a question of whether someone believed in the spirit of Santa Claus. It was a question of whether we liked the things Santa represents.

There’s really nothing wrong with letting children believe in Santa, Mrs. Claus, the elves, the workshop and the North Pole until they’re old enough to appreciate the value of legends.

It shouldn’t just be confined to December. People who have any religious conviction at all believe that we should think about Jesus all year long, not just on Christmas and Easter. The same is true with Santa.

His kindness and his generous nature should be kept in mind whenever we do something nice, whenever we go out of our way to help someone. It deserves to be remembered on a 12-month basis.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent