Short version: worth reading, but don’t give it to kids who believe in Santa.
The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas is an easy and informative read. Bennett is a masterful storyteller, transforming what could be a dry encyclopedia entry into an engaging tale. The book is divided into three sections of three chapters each: Life of Nicholas, Legends of Nicholas, and Legacy of Nicholas.
In Part One, Bennett takes the sparse historical materials as well as the legends and hagiographies and combines them into an interesting story of Nicholas’ life, filling in cultural and historical details and making clear what’s certain and what’s supposition. I appreciated Bennett’s occasional use of Scripture and focus on Nicholas’ faith and service to God. This is not about a historical figure who happens to matter to Christians; this is about a Christian who happens to matter to history.
Part Two shows the transformation of Nicholas from godly man to saint invoked and capitalized on by virtually every group, from sailors to merchants to women trying to conceive. Part Three moves to the transformation of Nicholas into Santa Claus. Bennett gives some attention to European variants like the Dutch Sinterklaas, but his primary focus is the genesis of the American Santa of “The Night Before Christmas” and Coca-Cola advertising. I found this particularly interesting as I was unaware of the history and didn’t realize how very American Santa is.
The jacket states that in this book, “Most of all, you will discover why this saintly man who has influenced our most beloved holiday throughout the years is evidence of God’s love, and why he does, indeed, matter to Christmas.” Certainly Bennett makes good on the first claim: Nicholas’ life is an inspiring story of a loving God at work in and through a man submitted to His will.
I’m not so sure about the second claim, though. Here’s what Bennett has to say:
But the stories of Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus are arguably true in a more important way. They are morally true. They offer generosity, kindness, justice, and self-sacrifice over avarice, cruelty, injustice, and self-indulgence. They are about the celebration of human closeness and decency, and the caring for others. They are about families at the hearth. In their totality, they are about the raising of sights and efforts toward a better life.
Is Nicholas worth knowing about? Absolutely. And Bennett shows that Santa and a faith-oriented Christmas are not incompatible. But for me, this final statement about the truth that can be found in Santa is a bit of a stretch. Does that make the book less worthwhile? No. It was definitely worth reading, and I would recommend it.
On a side note, The True Saint Nicholas is a beautifully designed book. For those of us who want our books to be both intellectually engaging and aesthetically pleasing, it delivers. It’s also short: 114 pages of large print, so it reads quickly.
A final note about children: I bought this thinking I would share it with my kids, but the only one that will read it any time soon is the teenager. Our younger two still believe in Santa, and while Bennett doesn’t come out and say that Santa doesn’t exist, the explanation of Santa’s history might burst the bubble for some. I could see reading Part One about the life of Nicholas to my children–the style is very accessible, and they would enjoy the story. But I won’t be passing the book around the family for several years.
Over the past few years, I’ve done fairly well in making some sort of observance of Lent, but Advent has generally escaped me—undoubtedly because the weeks leading up to Christmas are always incredibly busy in ways that the Lenten season never is.
Charis means grace, and that’s what this blog is about: grace, in all its—sometimes messy, always magnificent—manifestations. I’m Dan Butcher, and I invite you to join me in learning to lead a Christ-centered, grace-filled life. 
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.