Inside: For years children have been writing letters to Santa, but did you know about the letters from Santa?
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Tolkien’s Version of Letters from Santa
Of course you know about those letters to Santa, and maybe as a child you wrote a few to the Big Guy yourself. But did you know that, from time to time, Santa has actually written back? Yes, it’s true. With a little help from a couple of famous authors, that is.
J.R.R. Tolkien fans and Christmas lovers alike will be pleased at the centenary edition of his Letters from Father Christmas.
For those not in the know, Tolkien wrote an annual letter to his children from Father Christmas (aka Santa), starting in 1920 with his firstborn until the last letter in 1943 when his daughter had gotten older. These letters, stamped from the North Pole, contained tales of life there, from reindeer getting loose and scattering presents everywhere to Polar Bear falling through Father Christmas’s roof and wars with goblins living in caves underneath his home. Letters typically included Tolkien’s colored drawings and sketches to illustrate the adventures. Polar Bear and Ilbereth the Elf would sometimes add a note to Father C’s missives as well.
Letters from Father Christmas is a wonderful tribute to both the creative genius and loving father who was Tolkien. While I have yet to read this wonderful book, I am definitely adding it to my wish list!
A Writer Closer to Home
I couldn’t leave out a fellow Missourian, Mark Twain, a devoted dad in his own right. In December of 1875, following the letter three-year-old Susie Clemens wrote to Santa (with her mother Olivia’s help), Twain penned a tender and funny response from Santa, as only Twain could do. It begins:
My Dear Susie Clemens,
I have received and read all the letters which you and your little sister have written me by the hand of your mother and your nurses; I have also read those which you little people have written me with your own hands–for although you did not use any characters that are in grown peoples’ alphabet, you used the characters that all children in all lands on earth and in the twinkling stars use; and as all my subjects in the moon are children and use no character but that, you will easily understand that I can read your and your baby sister’s jagged and fantastic marks without any trouble at all. But I had trouble with those letters which you dictated through your mother and the nurses, for I am a foreigner and cannot read English writing well. (Read the rest of the letter here.)
Twain ends the letter with instructions to Susie and the other members of the household upon Santa’s visit to her house, including what George the butler must do. (George was supposedly in on many of Twain’s pranks.)
While a similar flavor to Tolkien’s letters, Twain’s “Letter from Santa Claus” makes for good Christmas reading as well. Who knows, maybe the act of writing to his daughter inspired Tolkien to do likewise with his children?
Note: You can find Twain’s “Letter from Santa Claus,” along with other stories in this audio book: 10 Christmas Stories: Classic Christmas Stories.
Happy Christmas reading!
