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Finding Santa Claus

2006-02-04

Maybe you're the type of person who has to actually see Santa Claus in order to believe in him. Not content to view him as the embodiment of generosity, love and friendship, you feel that his existence can only be proved if he were to appear in the flesh. And because you have not seen him he is therefore merely a figment of the imaginations of millions of children the world over. Let me share with you a secret: Santa is very much alive and living in a small English village perched on the edge of the North Pennine Moors, at least in the summer. My family and I discovered him quite by accident one morning when we stopped for hot chocolate before driving over the moors to Hexham.

The little pub at the corner of the road looked warm and inviting on a drizzly grey day. With our three small children in tow, we ventured inside and sat down at a scrubbed oak table, ordered hot chocolate for the kiddies and lattes for us. The fire in the large stone fireplace threw out a welcome with its light and warmth. Sitting next to the fire was a gentleman with a white beard and white hair that curled up at his neck. He was wearing a thick cream-colored sweater and soft green corduroy pants. The children noticed him as soon as they sat down. Whispering to us, the eldest announced that it must be Santa Claus, and the other two agreed. They kept taking little peeks at him, not wanting to stare and call attention to themselves. Yes, he certainly seemed like the Santa Claus we’d all seen in movies and books. Suddenly he looked up and smiled warmly at us. There was a definite twinkle in his eyes that crinkled up with little laughter lines. I was sure he’d overheard what our trio was saying about him. And then I knew in my heart that what my children felt was true: this was indeed Santa Claus.

No words were exchanged with him, for that might have broken the spell, but we left with a warm glow that carried us across the bleak moors in a swirl of happiness. And now, at every Christmas, we remember that moment of discovery when disbelief was suspended and we simply accepted what our hearts told us. May you too find Santa Claus in the most unexpected of places this Christmas.

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