Song - The Savior That Santa Claus Knew

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

Long before the reindeer, in the fourth century,

there lived a humble bishop, who fed the hungry.

His name was Nicholas, but let's take a pause,

this man became the legend we know as Santa Claus!

[Chorus]

Oh we gave him a white beard,

we dressed him in red.

We brought him down the chimney,

while you sleep in your bed.

But Nicholas held tight to something that's true,

Let's meet the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

Oh let's meet the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

The Child in the manger, faithful and true!

From the cradle, to the cross, to the empty tomb!

Jesus Christ is the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

[Verse 2]

He inherited great wealth, but considered it naught.

He heard the good news that the Apostles taught,

so he gave up his money, for Heavenly gains,

proclaiming salvation in Jesus' name!

[Chorus]

Oh we gave him some reindeer,

shoved him in a sleigh.

We made a naughty and nice list,

so our kids will behave.

But Nicholas held tight to something that's true.

Let's meet the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

Oh let's meet the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

The Child in the manger, faithful and true!

From the cradle, to the cross, to the empty tomb!

Jesus Christ is the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

[Verse 3]

When falsehood rose, and the truth was denied,

Nicholas took a stand for Christ Crucified.

It's said he punched an Aryan, though it might not be true.

He still proclaimed the Good Lord, he stood for the truth!

[Bridge]

"I must decrease", as the Baptist said,

all for the increase of the Lord who rose from the dead.

Oh, to the same Lord, Nicholas bowed his knee,

as he sought a gift you won't find under the tree!

[Chorus]

A gift without ribbons, a gift without tags.

A gift without packages, boxes, or bags.

A gift that keeps on giving, because He came to save you!

Let's meet the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

Let's meet the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

God in the flesh, faithful and true!

From the cradle, to the cross, to the empty tomb!

Jesus Christ is the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

Thank the Lord for the Savior that Santa Claus knew!

Background

Personally, while I'm certainly not of the "Christmas is pagan" crowd, Christmas really isn't my thing. One thing I particularly dislike is the music. I find it annoying, pretentious, and worst of all, it somehow finds its way into my head in the middle of August.

Another issue I have is the character of Santa Claus. He's been secularised to the point of being nothing but a marketing gimmick, and to make matters worse, we lie to our children about him. This causes them to grow up and wonder what else we lied about, which of course runs the risk of having them doubt Christ.

But the myth of Santa Claus is based on a real person, and his story is very useful for evangelism. This gives an interesting solution to my two Christmas grievances. Replace the terrible music and the lies with good music about the truth. Thus, "The Savior That Santa Claus Knew" was born.

Originally, the lyrics felt clumsy. Their bare bones can still be seen in the final version, but they were far less lively. Of course, while the song is heavily centred around Santa Claus, he is intended to be a secondary theme, pointing back to Jesus Christ. But it felt like Jesus was supposed to be the whole theme, and Santa was just thrown in for his own sake. My solution was to slightly tweak the verses, but also expand the chorus. This created an unintentional, but satisfying structure: A verse about history, half a chorus about the secularisation of Santa, and the main theme: Let's get back to Jesus.

Verse 1 sets up the concept of the whole song, introducing us to Nicholas of Myra, a fourth century bishop (faith) who "fed the hungry" (character). Because of his role in the Church, it didn't feel necessary to jump straight into "he worshipped Jesus, so let's relegate him to the footnotes". In fact, as stated, that was the main issue with the original version. All I needed to do here was introduce the man, and establish his connection to the myth. Nicholas of Myra, i.e. "Saint" Nicholas, would eventually become known as "Santa Claus.

But of course, the legend developed, and so that became the theme of the chorus. As I tend to do, I chose to phrase it in a collective and self-inclusive manner. This is something I like to do not only in music, but in general articles, too. This is because Scripture firmly establishes a collective human nature, and pride alone convinces us we are beyond it. And of course, in this particular case, it's not like I haven't contributed to the myths I'm seeking to redeem.

Having cited a few cliches about Santa Claus, I noted that the real man "held tight to something that's true", and set up a dramatic introduction to the star of the show (no pun intended): Jesus Christ. In the general chorus, He is "the child in the manger, faithful and true". Following this, I give a quick overview of His whole Earthly life. He came as a child, He died on a cross, and He rose on the third day.

In verse 2, I give a brief nod to the history of Nicholas. While he, himself, chose the life of an ascetic, he did inherit great wealth. Yet, proving he valued Heaven over Earth, he didn't keep much of it. Rather, he used it charitably. In one case, he is even said to have dropped a large bag of money down a man's chimney, saving his two daughters from selling themselves as prostitutes. This isn't coincidental behavior, of course; it was driven by his Christian faith. Annoyingly, Mozart AI mispronounces this verse, so it sounds like "he gave me up his money", instead of "he gave up his money".

The third verse contains a popular story among Christians. It is said that Nicholas' passion for Christ flared up at the Council of Nicaea, to the extent where he punched Arius in the face. It felt like a disservice to not include this legend, but for sake of accuracy, I also felt the need to clarify that it might not be true. The historical evidence does suggest it may be a developed legend. Sadly, Mozart AI has a tight content filter, meaning the word "punched" has to be misspelled in order to make it produce the song. I usually write "ponched", since this is musically similar to "punched", and thus usually goes unnoticed.

The bridge is a reference to John 3:30, which is actually the foundation of the whole song. Here, John says of Christ "He must increase, but I must decrease." I believe these words should be echoed by believers in general, but especially those who have some form of fame. This certainly applies to Nicholas, and if he could see what a legend he has become, he would no doubt approve of this interpretation.

The final chorus is tweaked dramatically. Connecting back to the bridge, where Nicholas "sought a gift you won't find under the tree", I began to describe this gift in words that are certainly not my own. Rather, they are the famous words of Dr. Seuss, from his story "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". The Grinch is one of my two favorite Christmas stories (the other being A Christmas Carol), mainly because of its theme of redemption. The quote refers to the Grinch's confusion, as his plan to steal Christmas fails. He took the superficial things - the presents, the decorations, the food etc. - but the citizens of Whoville, rather than sit and pout, gather together to sing. This melts the Grinch's heart, causing him to repent, and he ultimately receives forgiveness. You don't need three guesses to see why I love this particular story, and of course it's why I also had to include a nod to it in this song.

Finally, we return to the main theme: The Savior that Santa Claus knew. But this time, I didn't reference Him as the "child in the manger". Just as Christmas is more than just packages, boxes, and bags, Jesus is far more than the human flesh He is wrapped up in. At His core, "...the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily," (Colossians 2:9). And of course, this is a truth Nicholas stood up for at the Council of Nicaea, even if he didn't do so as aggressively as legend says.

Because of the nature of this song, I did want it to be singable in a Church context, possibly as a hymn. Thus, I rejected the more energetic generations that might trip up "weaker" singers, such as myself. However, as regularly happens, I did generate one other version I actually liked. I've decided to include that one here, too. This one feels more appropriate for a dance, and as I listened to it, I actually pictured Santa Claus dancing with glowsticks on a stage. I'll leave it to you to decide: Bop, or flop?

AI usage

This song was produced using Mozart AI.