We reprint here an open letter from Santa, which was apparently censored by virtually all Western media. It was kindly forwarded to us by Jeff Rebello, longtime member of the “nice” list:
Dear Children,
I am very sad to inform you that I will be unable to visit you this Christmas Eve. Please understand that this was not my fault! I had every intention and the most heartfelt desire to come to you this year as I have always done, and to share with you all those wonderful toys and gifts, produced by our Elves in their workshops throughout the whole year! For gift-giving, when it comes from the heart, is a wonderful thing, and truly the joy of the season.
Alas! It is your governments, the leaders of your countries, that have forbidden me to come! They have alleged against me that my “indiscriminate giving” is a sort of crime against the West. They have insisted that I give only to those countries of whom they approve, or they will not allow me in. I argued that, while it is true that I don’t discriminate based on race or religion or nationality, or any of those silly things that divide us as people (for I consider us all as part of one big human family), I do discriminate on “naughty” versus “nice.” I keep my list, you know, and I check it twice! Although I give gifts even to the “naughty” ones, they receive not what they wish for, but rather such gifts as will temper their naughtiness and tend to make them more nice, if that’s possible.
Well, in Europe I was told that if I delivered any gifts to Russian children, I would not be allowed into any of their countries, with the exception of Hungary and Slovakia. I said, “But why should I not bring gifts to the Russian children? They are surely as deserving as the children of Europe!” They said that this would make me a “friend of Putin,” to which I responded that, indeed, I could not deny being Putin’s friend, but that I was no more and no less a friend to Putin than to any of them, for I love them all equally. This, they said, could not be, and that I must choose one or the other. I told them it was impossible for me to make such a choice, because I love all mankind. They then threatened me, that if I were caught in any of their countries, I would be arrested and thrown into prison on suspicion of terrorism, and that my Sleigh and Reindeer would be confiscated as Russian assets! In Ukraine they even threatened to shoot me as a Russian spy and use my Sleigh and Reindeer to haul ammunition! I told the Europeans that I truly felt sorry for them if they were so short of cash that they felt the need to rob Santa, and I would gladly give them whatever I had, if I indeed had any, since I rarely deal in money and any we get is immediately reinvested in our toy-making enterprise.
As if this were not bad enough, I was then told by the rulers of Israel that I might bring gifts to the children of Israel, but not to those of Palestine. I replied that, again, for me this was an impossibility, because, in fact, I could not tell the difference between them, that they indeed shared the same land, and that for me they were all Children of God born in the land where Christ was born and where Christmas began. They said that this showed a latent streak of “anti-Semitism” and sympathy for terrorism, and would not be tolerated. They threatened that if I dared to fly over their air space my Sleigh (and I) would be shot down, and that my beloved Reindeer would be slaughtered and fed to the settlers! I replied that if the settlers were in need of food, I would be more than happy to supply them from my own larder (Mrs. Claus is an excellent cook, and the Elves aren’t too bad, either), but that I would never submit to allow my friends to be so mistreated.
Unfortunately, I did not fare any better in the United States. I was told that if I wished to trade with the U.S., I could not trade with China or Iran or any of the BRICS countries, or any other nation that the U.S. was opposed to. I explained that I was not interested in trade, but only in giving gifts to little children, that my gifts were given freely and that I expected nothing in return. They responded that this sort of “giving,” along with my red suit, smacked of communism or socialism and was antithetical to the notions of free trade and democracy as practiced in the United States. I said that, as for my red suit, I had started my mission long before communism was invented and if anything, that they had gotten the idea from me and not the other way around. As for the color, Christmas is a festive and happy occasion which should be celebrated with bright colors (plus, helps with visibility on dark foggy nights). It also makes me easily recognizable, since I have been wearing it for ages.
I explained further that such gift giving originated with the gifts of the Three Wise Men to the Christ Child, that the ultimate gift was that given by God to man in the form of the Baby Jesus and as the image of Him reflected in our own souls, that this gift could never be repaid, and that God as the Creator is unable to receive gifts from us, because He already possesses everything. It is for this reason that we give to each other, and most especially to little children who are unable to give on their own account but can only receive; that further, these little ones, like the Christ Child, are a reflection of the future to which we in the present must give everything, since we can never repay what those generations past gave to us any more than we can repay God Himself.
I had thought this to be a pretty good explanation of Christian principles, but the American authorities told me that this only confirmed their suspicions that I was probably an agent of the Chinese Communist Party expounding some sort of Marxist dogma, and that if I entered their territory I would be arrested as an “illegal alien” and deported back to the North Pole as quickly as possible, but that my Sleigh would be confiscated and my Reindeer placed in a zoo! I said that this seemed to me to be a gross violation of their own notions of private property, but then, they really do seem to make up these rules as they go along, with no regard to actual principles of law.
It appears that those very qualities of love and generosity that had once made me so popular and beloved in the West are now completely out of sorts with the current crop of leaders there. I truly wonder if these folks celebrate Christmas at all! Their hearts are colder than the North Pole! Oh, if only I could find the perfect gift to melt their icy hearts as I once did the old Winter Warlock. Remember, when he threatened my life, I gave him a gift that melted his heart of ice. What was it? I believe it was a choo choo train! Well, that’s probably just what they need: I’ve heard that the trains in the West aren’t working so well these days. But for such gifts to have any effect, they must find a receptive heart. What all this unfortunately comes down to, is that I will not be with you this Christmas Eve, at least not in the flesh, but I will be with you in spirit! After all, a fellow like me can only really exist in the hearts and minds of people of good will who share that universal love of mankind and commitment to a bright and happy future for all generations. With that thought, I heartily wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas!
