WITH one of the curliest, snowiest beards, reddest cloaks and sparkliest mitres ever seen outside Lapland, Father Christmas sat at the front of the church, dispensing chocolates wrapped in gold. It was probably a little ambitious to take a two-year-old to the St Nicholas Society celebrations in Sloane Square and the carol service afterwards at Holy Trinity in Sloane Street, but the hundreds of older children who sat cross-legged from the chancel steps down through the nave were entranced.

I hope it does not spoil the mystery for Times readers if I reveal that that our Santa was none other than Canon Jim Rosenthal, head of communications at the Anglican Communion Office, whose duties as Father Christmas have him flying all over the world at this time of year dispensing largesse. On the Feast of St Nicholas itself, this month, he led a parade through the streets of Canterbury in a festival whose patron is Jane Williams, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and which was held in aid of Demelza House, a hospice for children in Kent.

Our service opened with a welcome from Bishop Michael Marshall, the Anglo-Catholic priest who has transformed this once lacklustre church into a thriving worshipping and artistic community at the centre of the fashionable Chelsea church set, but whose own purple robes were for once outshone by the scarlet splendour of the saint on the steps above him. After our opening song, sung to the tune of the Lourdes Hymn, we sang the refrain: “He is Father Christmas, and Santa Claus too. He helped many people, the stories are true.”

Our talk was a little too long and was difficult to hear among the constant babble of tiny, excited voices, even sitting directly beneath the lectern. Taking notes was even more difficult, with Arthur by now performing somersaults on my lap. I never really appreciated how truly stressful Christmas is before I had a child.

“Most of all, Christmas is about God’s great love coming into the world through the birth of Jesus,” we heard. “When people make a place for God in their lives, they become saints, just like Nicholas did. The Nicholas story is about a series of good deeds, of help given to people in distress. As a young man, Nicholas had a love for Jesus that led him to reach an important decision. He inherited a great amount of money and property. And just as you can do when you receive a gift, he was able to choose how to spend his money. He gave every penny of his inheritance to help the poor.”

Founded in 2000, the English Speaking St Nicholas Society is a sister organisation to the Belgian Sint Niklaas Genootschap. The aim is to counter the commercialisation of the Santa Claus legend and to increase interest, learning and appreciation of the tradition of St Nicholas, who was born in AD260 and died, on December 6, AD343, and is patron saint of children, pawnbrokers and sailors.

The society does not oppose Christmas celebrations but it does attempt to encourage “sanity” in the buying of presents and is also trying to remould Christmas as a day of Christian celebration. According to its website, the society believes that St Nicholas helps young and old to see what the true spirit of Advent and Christmas can be for us all, especially for those who find the holidays very stressful. The society states as its hope that Jolly Old St Nicholas will become, once again, in English-speaking parts of the world, a focus of celebration in his true identity.

A five-star guide

PRIEST-IN-CHARGE: Bishop Michael Marshall

TALK: Carol Myers of the St Nicholas Centre, US, on the true meaning of Christmas.

ARCHITECTURE: Twinkly Arts and Crafts church, arguably at its best at this time of year.

MUSIC: “Sing this to the tune of When Shepherds Wash Their Socks by Night,” said Father Christmas when we reached the third song.

LITURGY: Readings and songs interspersed with shouts, yells, laughter, giggles and general hilarity.

SPIRITUAL HIGH: Almost enough to make me believe in Santa Claus, but Arthur, aged 2, was not convinced

AFTER-SERVICE CARE: A blessing from the Bishop and distribution of sweets.