The Secularizing of Christmas
Christmas as a religious holiday is not really all that old and is instead a relatively modern invention. Nevertheless, most Christmas stories tended to focus on the religious aspect of Christ’s birth. This poem was built upon a foundation established by Washington Irving and continued later stories by Dickens, Alcott and other 19th century author to establish a secular mythology surrounding the holiday that would become at least as expansive as the religious aspect of the holiday. The description of St. Nicholas is heavily indebted to Irving’s fiction, but over time the poem has superseded that author’s work in giving shape and form to the central figure of secular celebration who would eventually become more famous in America as Santa Claus.
Magical Realism
This poem might well be categorized as a prototype for the literary genre known as Magical Realism. This genre is notable for introducing supernatural elements into the everyday world as we know it. The first few stanzas solidly situate a world we can recognize as the one we live in; it is not taking place in some alternate realm. The story could well continue on without any introduction of magical elements by having St. Nick arrive with reindeer leading a sleigh across the snowy landscape and entering the house by legitimately illegitimate breaking and entering. Instead, into this everyday ordinary evening magic arrives in the form of smaller-than-average reindeer and an elfin-sized figure capable of bringing a large sack of toys both down and up a chimney which logic dictates he should not fit through. At no point does narrator ever stop to question the validity of the magical attributes of the visitor. He is something of a stoical philosopher who knows enough not to question what he can clearly see taking place with his own eyes.
Trust
Let’s face it, a police report blotter stating just the facts of this case would be quite an alarming read. It is, to an extent, the story of a crime: breaking and entering. And in the psychological dissonance of being an anti-burglary in which the mysterious criminal doesn’t steal but instead leaves gifts and under most circumstances no one would fault the narrator for collapsing in a panic attack rather than eagerly watching the intruder go about his sneaky business. Ultimately, the story is pursuing a theme that pushes the idea of trust and optimism about the agenda of other people. The narrator does not leap to a judgment about the source of the loud noise which has awakened him from slumber. He never presents himself as a threat to the jolly little stranger nor does he for a moment react as if he is being threatened.
