by A bottle-cap-sorting boy in Stockholm asks for Santa’s number, what the midnight sun is, and why we recycle
A Letter to Santa from Stockholm, Sweden
Dear Santa,
Hej Santa! My name is Erik and I am 9 years old. I live in Stockholm, in Sweden, a city built across many little islands. I love building things and sorting my bottle caps. My question is: what is Santa Claus’s number? Do you have a lucky number? My geography question is: what is the midnight sun? And my social studies question is: why do countries care about recycling? Tack, Santa!
Love, Erik (age 9)
Santa’s Reply
Ho ho ho, hej Erik! A boy who builds things and sorts his bottle caps will run my workshop someday, I am sure of it. Now, you are not the first child to ask me about a number, and I always smile, because I do not really have one. I am too busy to be a number. But if you insist on one, here is my favorite: I try to leave one little spark of joy in every single home I visit. That is the only number I count. Oh, and I do eat roughly a million cookies on Christmas Eve, so perhaps that counts too.
Your geography question: the midnight sun
The midnight sun is a wonderful event in the far north, where in the middle of summer the sun never fully sets, even at night. In the northern parts of your own Sweden, people can play outside under a glowing sky at midnight. In winter the opposite happens, and the days grow very dark and short. Read more at National Geographic Kids.
Your social studies question: why we recycle
Countries care about recycling because it helps protect the Earth. When we reuse paper, glass, and plastic instead of throwing them away, we save resources and keep our planet cleaner. Your own Sweden is famous for being one of the best recyclers in the world, so all that bottle-cap sorting is excellent practice. Explore more at Britannica Kids.
Keep building wonderful things, Erik. Yours warmly from the North Pole, Santa Claus.
