It’s Saturday once again and time for another Christmas-themed Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver on Genea-Musings. With Christmas only days away, it’s appropriate that this week’s challenge is all about Santa:

1)  Answer these questions:

a) Did you ever send a letter to Santa Claus?
b) Did you ever visit Santa and “make a list?”
c) Do you still believe in Santa Claus?
d) When did you find out “the truth” about Santa Claus?

A. Christmas is a magical time for little children and, while I hadn’t thought about writing letters to Santa for years, I do have distinct memories of sitting at the kitchen table, paper and pencil in hand, writing a happy note to Santa, letting him know that I’d been a very good little girl all year. That was followed by my wish list for Christmas gifts.

B. I even have vague memories of addressing an envelope to Santa at the North Pole, but I have no idea if my mother ever mailed them or not. I suspect that she did, as the post office did accept letters to Mr. Claus and I would have been very excited as the prospect of mailing off the letter myself.

However, I don’t remember exactly where we saw Santa. It was most likely Nadler’s or Ginsberg’s clothing stores, two of the nicest shops,  in downtown Passaic.

C. Yes, I have to say I still believe in the spirit of Santa Claus. While the holiday itself is way too commercialized (and expensive, if families let it get that way), Santa is a very visible symbol of good cheer, smiles, families and past memories.

D. The photo with my brother was taken when I was seven years old and in second grade. I was probably in first grade or just beginning second grade when I found out that Santa was imaginary. So, by the time we visited Santa, I was aware that he wasn’t real. I also remember being under the pain of death if I told my brother, but that isn’t anything I would have done anyway!

For the next few years, I played along with my parents so my brother would feel the same excitement that I did, waiting for Christmas morning.

Thanks, Randy, for bringing on a wave of nostalgia.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!