In anticipation of the most magical time of year, a child
poetically articulates on paper exactly what she wants for
Christmas, pleading her case as to why she overwhelmingly
deserves everything for which she is asking. Then, with the
greatest of care, she places her magical letter into an
envelope, writes "To Santa Claus" on the face, attaches the
postage stamp Mom gave her to use, and carries it to the
mailbox. Then, of course, the mail carrier grabs the letter and
off it goes.
Well, to little Abigail who wrote the letter, there is no
question as to where the letter is heading...Santa Claus, of
course. But would you be surprised if I told you that little
Abigail is most likely exactly right?
It was 1852 and the Christmas Eve church service had just
concluded. Being that the whole town was present, it was a good
time to hold the final town meeting of the year. You see, for
years, this small town in Spencer County of southern Indiana,
founded in the late 1840's, had been known as the "nameless
town." This was simply because the settlers, of mostly German
descent, could not decide on a name.
All were gathered around the pot-bellied stove, including the
children...although quiet and not really participating, were
included in the most important town meetings. As the frustrating
discussion of naming the town continued, a chilly December gust
blew open the wooden doors of this small log church, and it was
the adults who fell silent as the youngsters came to life. With
a magical scene of snowflakes glistening on black velvet,
mysterious sleigh bells were heard through the picture-framed
doorway. It was then the children, almost in one, simultaneous
voice exclaimed, "Santa Claus, it's Santa Claus!"
It was so...one Christmas Eve, over 150 years ago, the little
nameless town finally got its name. Santa Claus, Indiana as it
is still named to this day.
As you may have guessed, this small town of just over 2,000
residents is all about Christmas. From the town's name to the
names on the street signs, as well as witnessing the town's
village d?cor, the holiday spirit year-round is very evident.
Each and every Christmas season, hundreds of thousands of
letters arrive at the town's small post office. In fact, this
post office handles more mail, many times over, during the
holidays than it does all other months combined! These letters,
often inscribed in crayon but with the utmost sincerity, have
but one name addressed on the envelope's face. Yeah, you guessed
it...Santa Claus.
So, this holiday season when your child or grandchild asks you
for a postage stamp so that they can mail their heart-felt
message to Santa Claus, you can honestly agree that their
letters will most likely find its intended destination...
About the author:
Mark Bulleit, resident of Santa Claus, Indiana, founded
Imaginary Greetings, LLC. His company, based on a long-lived
local holiday tradtion he wanted to share with the rest of the
world, mails thousands of personalized letters from Santa Claus
to children world-wide every year through his web site at http://www.lettersfro
msantaclaus.com.
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