Give like the original Santa

St. Nicolas of Myra was the first and original Santa Claus. He lived during the 3rd century under the Roman Empire in modern day Turkey. His habit of secretly giving to the poor was how he became the original model of Santa Claus. St. Nicolas lived out this command of Christ: "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret" (Matthew 6:1-4)

Things have changed since then; our Christmas gifting today is neither focused on the needy nor done in secret. That's not to say charity doesn't happen, it just hasn't been the main theme of our giving. Culturally, we exchange gifts with friends and family, it is a sign of mutual friendship and love rather than charity.

Giving can be loaded with pressure: Is this gift good enough? Is it too expensive? Too cheap? Showing too much eagerness to please? Or not pleasing enough? All this pressure comes from attaching ourselves too much with the gift we are giving. When we are thinking these thoughts, it's a sure sign that the gift is more about us than about the recipient of it. It is ironic, but giving can be a self-centered act.

In contrast, following St. Nicholas' model has this effect: giving anonymously to the needy breaks the power of self-centered thoughts and brings pleasure of being generous.