"Santa Claus" is another Way of saying St. Nicholas, a bishop in Asia Minor
during the fourth century known for his extraordinary generosity.
He was later associated with giving presents on the 6 th December. St.
Nicholas was adopted by the Netherlands as the patron saint of children. On
St. Nicholas eve, the children would leave their shoes filled with hay for the
saint's white horse.
No wonder so many people miss Christmas. The simplicity of the birth of
Christ is drowned in a sea of traditions, many being pagan in origin. Even
worse than that, when Christ was born in Bethlehem, most people of that
day missed it
Luke 2:7 says, "[Mary] gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him
in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in
the inn." The first person who missed Christmas was the innkeeper. He was
unable to take in Mary and Joseph because he had no room for them.
Apparently, he was indifferent to their plight--there is no indication from
Scripture that he called for any help.
Notice that verse 7 says, "She gave birth to her first-born son." Mary herself
gave birth to Jesus. By herself she wrapped Him in cloths. Joseph was there
to help, but if he was anything like most young fathers, he would have been
of little help.
Middle-eastern people are hospitable, kind, and caring. They are not
barbaric. They are not the kind of people who would leave a woman alone to
have her baby. But in this case, they did. Where were the midwives? You'd
think the innkeeper would have known someone who could have helped.
Luke tells us she laid Him in a manger, which is an animal feeding trough.
The cloths she wrapped Jesus in were long strips of cloth. Whenever an
infant was born, immediately the baby was cleaned. Then the baby's limbs
and body would be wrapped in these swaddling cloths and then wrapped in
an outer blanket. That was a duty normally carried out by a midwife. But
Mary had to do it all herself.
We don't know anything about the innkeeper because the Bible doesn't say
anything about him. Some commentators speculate that Jesus was born in a
stable some think He was born in a cave, and others believe he was born in
an open courtyard at the inn. One thing we do know: whatever hospitality
Mary and Joseph hoped to find, they found none--they were turned away.
Why did the innkeeper miss Christmas? I think the simple answer is he was
busy. His inn was full because a census was being held in Bethlehem. The
city was bulging with people whose ancestors came from there. Since
Bethlehem was the city of David, all those who were in the line of David
were there, including Joseph and Mary. The innkeeper wasn't necessarily
hostile and unsympathetic; he was just busy.
People miss Christ at Christmastime because He is crowded out by a world
that dictates what they should think, do, and buy. Like the innkeeper, people
today are distracted. The innkeeper didn't know anything about the baby
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