Where’s Santa Today?
My father told me one of his favorite Christmas memories were the times when the two of us would track where Santa was in his journey to deliver presents. Tracking Santa took almost the whole month of December.
I didn’t have the best grasp of geography in kindergarten and first grade, but I was sure that since Santa had to cover the whole world before arriving in New Jersey (where we lived) on Christmas Eve he needed to get an early start.
“He’s in China” – “He’s in Greece” – “He’s in France” – “He’s in Russia” – “He’s in Greenland” (getting close!) – “He’s in Canada” (probably the 23rd) and finally, when I went to bed on Christmas Eve Santa was flying over Vermont on the way to our town.
Santa’s travels were in our imagination, but now we can follow him and the reindeer online!
Around the same time another father, President John F. Kennedy, responded to a little girl in Michigan who wrote to him afraid that the Russians would bomb the North Pole and hurt Santa.
After writing that he shared her concerns about atmospheric testing, he concluded, “However, you must not worry about Santa Claus. I talked with him yesterday and he is fine. He will be making his rounds this Christmas.”
