.Dear Santa: Bring daddy back from Afghanistan
The postal elves who answer letters to Santa are witnessing a small but noticeable new trend this year: messages from the children of Canadian soldiers who want nothing more than for their mothers and fathers to come home from the war in Afghanistan.
Canada Post assembles a team of volunteers to answer letters to Santa Claus every year. But the 11,000 "elves" are seeing these heartfelt pleas atop the list of more Canadian children than ever this holiday season, mixed in among the requests for video games and iPods, for Barbies and new bikes.
"We've got a lot of tough ones like that this year," said Nicole Lemire, a 17-year veteran postal elf and Canada Post spokeswoman in Ottawa.
It's not the first year that the children of Canadian soldiers have asked Santa to bring their moms and dads home safely so they can spend Christmas together, but "there do seem to be more of them this year," Ms. Lemire said.
For some of the postal elves - all of whom are either past or present Canada Post employees who volunteer to pen the responses - the innocent implorations of children seeking the safe return of a parent, or the opportunity to speak to a loved one who has died, can be too much to handle emotionally.
"I've been doing this for years and I still get choked up all the time," Ms. Lemire said.
Canada Post has installed a contingency plan to handle such cases.
When that happens, that's when "expert elves," such as British Columbia's "head elf," Fred Danells, step in.
The 66-year-old retired postal worker has been answering letters on behalf of Mr. Claus for 11 years, and spent the past five organizing B.C.'s North Pole correspondence. Even the voicemail on his cellphone answers as Santa Claus.
When one of his "elves" has a tough time striking a delicate and reassuring chord in a letter, the job falls to Mr. Danells to make sure the response receives the careful attention and proper tone it deserves.
"Those letters come to me, and you've just got to do the right thing," he said. "What you do with that letter and how you respond to it is very important. I wouldn't say it's heart-wrenching; it's a privilege."
Mr. Danells estimates that only "0.001 per cent" of Santa letters ask those tearjerker questions, but he is noticing that children everywhere are becoming more aware of the world around them. Even children without any connection to the military are asking Santa to watch over Canadian troops in Afghanistan this year.
"Some will say they want a Nintendo game or I would like a Barbie doll, but that they would also like the war to stop in Afghanistan," he said. "We had one comment where they said they hope the soldiers have enough blankets to keep warm, others where they say they hope they're safe."
Last year, Canada Post volunteers responded to 1.2 million letters and 45,000 e-mails. Since the program started in 1982, postal elves have responded to Canadian children in 28 languages, including Braille.
The Globe and Mail
Canada Post assembles a team of volunteers to answer letters to Santa Claus every year. But the 11,000 "elves" are seeing these heartfelt pleas atop the list of more Canadian children than ever this holiday season, mixed in among the requests for video games and iPods, for Barbies and new bikes.
"We've got a lot of tough ones like that this year," said Nicole Lemire, a 17-year veteran postal elf and Canada Post spokeswoman in Ottawa.
It's not the first year that the children of Canadian soldiers have asked Santa to bring their moms and dads home safely so they can spend Christmas together, but "there do seem to be more of them this year," Ms. Lemire said.
For some of the postal elves - all of whom are either past or present Canada Post employees who volunteer to pen the responses - the innocent implorations of children seeking the safe return of a parent, or the opportunity to speak to a loved one who has died, can be too much to handle emotionally.
"I've been doing this for years and I still get choked up all the time," Ms. Lemire said.
Canada Post has installed a contingency plan to handle such cases.
When that happens, that's when "expert elves," such as British Columbia's "head elf," Fred Danells, step in.
The 66-year-old retired postal worker has been answering letters on behalf of Mr. Claus for 11 years, and spent the past five organizing B.C.'s North Pole correspondence. Even the voicemail on his cellphone answers as Santa Claus.
When one of his "elves" has a tough time striking a delicate and reassuring chord in a letter, the job falls to Mr. Danells to make sure the response receives the careful attention and proper tone it deserves.
"Those letters come to me, and you've just got to do the right thing," he said. "What you do with that letter and how you respond to it is very important. I wouldn't say it's heart-wrenching; it's a privilege."
Mr. Danells estimates that only "0.001 per cent" of Santa letters ask those tearjerker questions, but he is noticing that children everywhere are becoming more aware of the world around them. Even children without any connection to the military are asking Santa to watch over Canadian troops in Afghanistan this year.
"Some will say they want a Nintendo game or I would like a Barbie doll, but that they would also like the war to stop in Afghanistan," he said. "We had one comment where they said they hope the soldiers have enough blankets to keep warm, others where they say they hope they're safe."
Last year, Canada Post volunteers responded to 1.2 million letters and 45,000 e-mails. Since the program started in 1982, postal elves have responded to Canadian children in 28 languages, including Braille.
The Globe and Mail
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