An open letter to all the Santas,
Before I put on my first Santa suit several years ago, I watched a Ted Talk entitled “Start with Why” featuring Simon Sinek. I happened to watch the video for a different reason; like many Santas, I thought being Santa was the reason I was being Santa. I didn’t need a why.
In that Ted Talk, Sinek encourages everyone to emphasize why you do something, and not what you do or how you do it. In important endeavors, he suggests that we start with why.
Around the same time, I picked up the Adam C. English book The Saint Who Would be Santa Claus. I read with a new appreciation the most famous story of St. Nicholas. The author explained how Nicholas gave a generous gift to a poor man who could have prostituted his own daughters because of his poverty. I was floored! Those circumstances were just like those in communities around the world with modern-day human trafficking!
Every Child’s Santa is here to help that child or young person who may never sit on Santa’s knee. These kids won’t receive a gift from a local toy drive and some may not even get to celebrate another Christmas. Their lives are at constant risk of exploitation and threat, and many are in the grip of human trafficking already.
These children are the perfect why for being Santa because you may never know about them otherwise. Even the boys and girls you see need Santa’s affirming words of personal worth and encouragement that can help them be safe. All of our children are at some level of risk of exploitation and the scourge of human trafficking. The passioned St. Nicholas would no doubt speak out about this plight of humanity.
Santa Claus does so much good in the world just by being Santa. Having a good why can do even more.
Every Child’s Santa