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The precious missive is the subject of all attention. “Did you write your letter to Santa Claus? », is the star question in playgrounds at the beginning of December. If it is the current concern of children, it remains the primary source of inspiration for adults, anxious to satisfy their offspring(s).
The Secretariat of the venerable, and equally providential, red and white man, opened at the end of November in Libourne (Gironde). As every year since 1962, the operation “Santa’s Mail” from La Poste strives to respond to letters from the little ones (and the older ones who still want to believe in it). More than 1.2 million children wrote to Santa Claus in 2014, including 123,600 by email. Whether they fill in the Girondin postal code or the hypothetical “rue des clouds” and “land of the elves”, they are thus guaranteed to receive a response from the sixty secretaries working for Santa Claus.
I’m bored, so I make a list for Santa Claus like when I was a kid, well written with drawings and everything!
Spontaneous or remote-controlled, this letter is an unmissable event for children under eight for whom the generous man has a chance of existence. And all the more so if the parents, fabulous fabulists… or talented liars, do not sell the wick, toiling to counter any hint of “imposture”. “The letter to Santa Claus is one of the essential steps in preparing for Christmas, and in the rite of family reunion”, considers Martine Segalen, family sociologist and ethnologist, author of Contemporary Rites and Rituals (Armand Colin, 2009). “Parents and children are happy to take part in this practice: a game for the grown-ups and a challenge for the little ones. It is a rite of passage that covers a given period, halfway between infancy and childhood.adds Angélique Kosinski Cimelière, clinical psychologist for children and adolescents for who “This Christmas magic is necessary for everyone, young and old”.
With scissors and feelings
“Santa Claus is a mythical creature but we have organized for him an earthly lifeexplains Nadine Cretin, holiday historian and author of Christmas Letters (Le Robert, 2015). He has a house in Rovaniemi, Finland, a country whose climate explains why he is well-booted and well-covered; he is sometimes lent a wife, and we know he is surrounded by his elf friends and owner of a sleigh pulled by reindeer. So there’s nothing out of the ordinary about sending him a letter.” considers the historian.
Gabriel reads us his letter to Santa Claus 🙂 #VirginTonic ☺️ https://t.co/2c926GiNDS
Small, the child cuts out catalogs of toys, from the latest to the loudest that he dreams of seeing at the foot of the tree, and glues, circles, underlines or numbers without counting and without regard for the finances of his parents whom he holds as a stranger to the generosity of the patriarch. Paradoxically, he also comes to fear it, under the influence of menacing “If you’re not good, Santa Claus won’t come…”.
“A Prayer to Santa Claus”
Grown up, he applies himself to writing this list in his best handwriting, which he embellishes with confidences in the old man and sweet recommendations. It is important to him not to disappoint the opulent donor. “Daddy and mommy say I’m wise but they don’t know everything”writes Gabriel, willingly admitting his chatter and his lies. “Mom says ‘Fault confessed half forgiven’ so I hope you forgive me”, he continues before moving on to the games that would make him happy. The smart little one slips in extremis a ” I forgot ! To make my little sister stop scratching me, can you give her a doll please? Thank you, you saved me! “.
Signs of affection – kisses, hugs and drawn hearts – usually punctuate the missive. “The child has the feeling of Santa Claus the feeling of a benevolent being to whom he can confess everything”from the pain he feels after the death of his pet to his inability to sleep without light, underlines Mme Kosinski Cemetery. “There are letters that can be glaring”, confirms Nadine Cretin. Of these letters which make the wish to put an end to the imminent separation of his parents or that of having a little brother soon. ” With fervent sincerity, the child addresses a prayer to Santa Claus. In his mind, Santa Claus, close to him and who knows him personally, brings happiness and can arrange all things”.
Source: Le Monde
