Lovely stories on the Old New Year: what Russian-speaking children in the USA wrote to Santa Claus

On the Old New Year, we want to cheer you up with touching quotes from letters that Russian-speaking children living in the USA sent to Santa Claus on holidays. The guys were asked about this by volunteers, and immigrant Yulia Paradnaya-Shipulina shared their answers with ForumDaily. We got very nice messages and requests.

Photo: Shutterstock

Children wrote letters to Santa Claus at the American Residence of Father Frost; volunteers answered them by hand and sent the letters back with wishes, as if they had been written by the New Year's wizard himself. The project was free and supported by local businesses.

How did the idea come about? A similar event was carried out for American children with the support of the USPS - children wrote to Santa Claus mainly online. The immigrants decided that the idea itself would appeal to Russian-speaking children living in the USA. They believe in the existence of both wizards, but Father Frost, unlike Santa, does not answer them, and the children and their families really want to maintain contact with Russian culture. This is how the project was born.

Photo: Julia Paradnaya-Shipulina

The children wrote and designed the letters themselves. The answers came fabulous: with sparkles, artificial snow, and small gifts inside the envelope. And most importantly - real, not electronic.

Photo: Julia Paradnaya-Shipulina

Such projects, according to the organizers, help to promote Russian culture in the United States, because the child thinks about who Santa Claus is, where he lives, how he looks. And, of course, this is the use of the Russian language in action. It turns out that he is needed not only for grandparents, but also for Santa Claus. By the way, there is a line in the letter that if the child writes in English, Santa Claus will not understand him. And this is a very strong motivation.

On the subject: Amazing historical facts about the New Year

Here are some cute word-for-word quotes from real letters sent by children:

• “Please send me a safe to put candy in, otherwise my sister steals candy from everyone like a thief.”
• “I behaved a little bad and a little good. I want my parents to be healthy, I want to fly to my grandmother. I want Santa Claus to give me such a thing so that I can fly to my grandmother.”
• “I dream of going to Russia to see my loved ones and also enjoy Russian delicacies. And also move to London. Having new friends, being smart, having a new phone, a new computer, being rich and having a good relationship with my sister."
• “Dear Grandfather Frost, for the New Year I want COVID-19 to end, so that my grandmother doesn’t get sick, and to go where I want.”
• “Dear Grandfather Frost, I live in Seattle, I like everything here, but I still want to return to Russia for a while. One of the reasons is to celebrate the New Year with the family who still lives there. And, of course, I miss Russian food and sweets. Besides Russia, I also want to travel around the world: live in Italy, Japan, Germany. But there will always be a longing for my home. In the end, I just want to live more fun and always be happy.”

Photo: Julia Paradnaya-Shipulina

Photo: Julia Paradnaya-Shipulina

Interesting data:

• the project was done for the first time;
• received 110 letters in total;
• they were sent from the states of Oregon, Washington, Texas, Hawaii, South Dakota, California;
• the organizers noticed that the children confuse the Russian New Year tradition and the American one, confuse Santa Claus and Father Frost. For example, they wrote about the fact that Santa Claus will bring gifts through the fireplace, although he enters through the door. They wrote that the team is led by deer, although the horses are leading. This suggests that it is necessary to support the Russian-speaking culture in the USA with such projects;
• there were letters from children who wrote that they miss Russia and want to go home. They miss Russian food, family and want to celebrate New Year there;
• adults wrote letters and said that it was hard for them to live in the USA and they wanted to return to Russia;
• the children wrote that they really want to go back to school. This is significant because in the United States, children study online, while in Russia they attend school;
• many want the coronavirus to disappear as soon as possible;
• many children shared their experiences and did not talk about gifts at all;
• there were both those who asked for very simple things (comfortable clothes, hot glue with straws, paint brushes) and those who asked for more expensive gifts (hoverboards, drones, iPhones, Lego sets).

Read also on ForumDaily:

Amazing historical facts about the New Year

12 phenomena on our planet that even scientists cannot believe

Christmas on the Beach and Sand Snowmen: Weird Florida Holiday Traditions

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