[Lawtan]

Solution to things like Santa Claus: Explain that there was once a man named Nicholas, whose actions of charity were grand enough to be remembered to this day, and that we dress in a modern likeness to celebrate the spirit of giving...so in a sense, children and adults get to be the awesome former saint of sailors, children, and charity.

Sort of how I'd explain most things like that. Christ being a carpenter who helped the crippled and penniless, a man whose home was also the home of several philosophers (so, an eloquent speaker), a forgiving person for his time, and a Jewish priest who several claim was the son of God.