Yes, Victor, there is a Santa Claus

Mi amigo, Victor

Sheila and I have the opportunity to spend time with a six year-old named Victor. Frequently he sits with us during church. Victor is, well...active. Yes, let's use the word active to describe Victor. He is the only boy in his family and is everything you could imagine a six year-old boy to be. He is rambunctious, likes to sing in church, really enjoys attention, pesters his sisters and cousin, finds it a challenge to sit still and loves to give hugs.

Like most families here in Nicaragua, his is challenged to make ends meet on the most meager of incomes. Recently I asked Victor about the visit Santa Claus will be making at his home. He immediately and repeatedly protested, "¡Él no es real!, ¡Él no es real!, ¡Él no es real! (He is not real!, He is not real!...)

I was first caught by surprise, then saddened, that such a young child did not believe in Santa Claus. This prompted me to do a little research into the Nicaraguan version of the Christmas holiday. I asked Alberto, the mission's school director, what traditions were observed at Christmas. His answer was simple enough: Nicaraguans will put a tree to decorate if they are able to go and cut one down somewhere and find a way to haul it home. They will get together with family and enjoy feast, most likely made up of once-a-year food items that are often beyond the financial limits for regular meals. They will dress in their nicest clothes - new ones if they are in the budget. They will spend time together as a family. So far, this probably doesn't sound too far from what we experience in the US.

Here's the real difference: Are you ready? Are you sitting down? NO GIFTS. PERIOD. Nicaraguans don't exchange gifts. Therefore, Santa Claus -the bringer of gifts- is not real. ¡Él no es real! Wrapping paper isn't even sold in stores here. Santa, or someone to tell your wishes to with hopes that they magically appear under the tree Christmas morning, is not real. Maybe it's a result of the tight budgets on which these families live. But it might be because their focus on Christmas is one of faith and family, not gift giving. I know we refer back to the wise men presenting Baby Jesus with gifts as the reason we include gift giving as part of the Christmas tradition. It's okay with me either way. Personally, I think the process of teaching a giving spirit to those around us manifests itself this time of year better than any other.

Regressing back to a simpler celebration as Sheila and I will observe in Nicaragua this year I am reminded that Ol' Saint Nick symbolizes the spirit of giving. And that giving does not have to be a material possession. It can be time with family, a shared thought of good will and an opportunity to promote peace right where you are, Hmm...peace on earth good will to men.

Boys exploring the goods from their Smile Boxes

Our Christmas this year? It has already begun by taking "Smile Boxes," which are Christmas gifts from the US to children here to various sites. Mision Para Cristo will play a part in distributing some 11,000 boxes this year. Christmas Eve we will go to the farm of a local man who is wealthy and he will put up a piñata for local children. Then we will play baseball and eat soup. Christmas Day we will just "hang out" with a member of the local church and his family - just family and faith. So, yes, Victor there is a Santa Claus. You may not be able to recognize him in the form in which he presents himself to you until you are older. But he, at least the spirit he represents, is alive and well in Nicaragua.