Review: Three Holiday Books for 12 Days of Christmas

Santa Claus: A Biography
By Gerry Bowler
McClelland & Stewart, Ontario, 278 pages, $26.95

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa scholar.  History professor Gerry Bowler shares his vast knowledge of all Santa's ancient and modern incarnations in the entertaining new book Santa Claus: A Biography.  Professor Bowler's detailed research and scrupulous footnotes demonstrate that, like his protagonist, he has checked his list twice.  Bowler also emulates his subject by wrapping his narrative in delightful ribbons of observation.  You can bet he gives full attention to the famous 1897 Santa-affirming newspaper editorial addressing the wavering faith of 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon.

The tales of Santa's origin are tangled and Bowler does an admirable job of combing through the variations.  Santa earned a reputation for rescuing a trio of poor students from an evil innkeeper who tried to drown them in barrels of pickle brine.  Things being what they are, this could have rendered Santa the patron saint of students or of pickles.  It's hit and miss with canonical recognition.  Another scenario has him anonymously tossing bags of dowry money through a poor man's window so this humble father didn't have to sell his daughters into prostitution.  The first two bags of money are lobbed through the window, but the third (things come in threes with Santa) is dropped down the chimney.  And that is the stuff of legends.