Dear Sooz:
My daughter is 5 and she has just asked me if there is a real Santa Claus. Of course I said yes, but, I would like to give her an answer that would satisfy her. Her friends at school say that there isn’t any such thing as Santa Claus. Please help me.
Frustrated Mom
Dear frustrated Mom:
Tell your daughter that Santa Claus does exist. He is formed from the LOVE that exists because of the Saint, Nicholas. Nicholas was a very kind man living over 2000 years ago near Turkey.
Often, he would leave food for the poor, and buy small gifts for the poor family’s children. He would do this in secret so that the recipients would not know who left them.
He did so love the children that he would go and sit in the square while little children would come up to him with their parents. He would talk to them asking if they had been good, and then he would speak with them about the true meaning of Christmas.
It was during these times he would ask the children, if they could have what they wanted, what would it be? Being from a wealthy family, Nicholas would purchase the gifts, then find out where they lived. He would deliver the gifts that the children wanted, along with a large Xmas turkey for their family.
Of course all of his gift and food donations were held to the utmost secrecy. It is from him where Santa Claus (Sinterklaas) was born. After his death, the townspeople carried on his tradition of secret gift giving which carried on through the ages.
To prove it further, millions of pieces of mail are sent to post offices yearly from all over the globe addressed to Santa Clause, c/o The North Pole. So yes, my dear there IS a Santa Claus.
Merry Christmas…