Goa Blog

He dresses in red fur from head to foot, And comes jingling on an eight reindeer sleigh,
A big bag of toys he carries on his back, A fatherly figure, rummaging in his sack, Bearing gifts for children they have longed for, And joy for us all to bear round the year! Hey friends, of course he is the lovable Father Christmas! We normally see that children of all ages, believe that Santa Claus visits our town during Christmas night and fulfills their wishes, with the items that they desire and have waited for.

Throughout the year, kids write letters to their dear Santa making known to him the gifts they would prefer during Christmas, They also write last minute letters and drop them into stockings and hangs them in a prominent place where it will certainly catch Santa’s eye.

Nine-year-old Rolisha Rodrigues believes, On Christmas eve Father Christmas piles all of the toys onto his sleigh and rides across the sky on his sleigh with his reindeers. The most famous one is Rudolf, the reindeer at the front who leads the way with his shiny red nose. He enters our houses through the chimney or through the door at midnight and places presents for the children in large red stockings or bags by their beds or at the foot of the family Christmas tree.

A youngster, Violet D’costa from Panjim says, This tradition is since the time of our grandparents. Whatever we used to demand and write, the next day we were certain to see it had been surprisingly gifted to us and we were always told that it was Santa who had brought the gifts during the night. Adding further she says, Actually those were just beliefs but in reality our grandparents or parents used to fulfill our wishes wearing the outfit of Santa Claus. Frankly speaking, I miss those fun days, with box full of chocolates and surprising gifts.

More idea about the letter placing Deryk adds Children write l etters to Father Christmas to tell him what they would like for Christmas. Some children will send their letters by post or e-mail but the more traditional way is to throw the letters into the back of the fireplace. The draught then carries the letters up the chimney to Father Christmas, who lives somewhere near the North Pole in Finland. That is observed mostly in the western countries. As we rarely have chimneys over here, we place the letters in an area where they are easily noticed.

Now, it has been in the fashion anywhere you go for childrens parties, someone dresses up as Father Christmas and gives small presents and sweets and chocolates to children and ask them what gifts they would like for Christmas. Supporting this statement Maria D’Silva says, Nowadays if parties are held without Santa Claus then it feels like a big and important part of the enjoyment is missing and as far as the kids are concerned then the presence of Santa makes them shriek with joy and merriment.

Listen to this history, Santa Claus is based on a real person called St Nicholas or Sinter Klaas in Dutch, who was a very shy man and wanted to give money to poor people without them knowing about it. Legend has it that one day, he climbed the roof of a house and dropped a purse of money down the chimney. It landed in the stocking, which a girl had put to dry by the fire! This may explain the belief that Father Christmas comes down the chimney and places gifts in childrens stockings. When the Dutch introduced Sinter Klaas to the Americans they called him Santa Claus.

It is thus right that Santa Claus is just a belief. However, allowing your kids to dream and fantasise gives them a hold over their baby years for a while at least. Give them reason to smile and be happy by letting Santa into their lives. They need a happy childhood, like bread needs butter, because its it big bad world out there. When their fantasy world comes to an end and they face the rest of their lives having to live in this sinful society, they will always have the good fun times to look back on to help them through.

Should we encourage our children to believe in Santa Claus? Aside from Jesus Christ being born, Christmas has always been about kids and it should stay that way, but how can this be if they are denied to join in with festive fun. Were you not a kid once?

by Pratima Achrekar

-Navhind Times, Goa Daily