by A singing girl in Memphis asks when Santa was invented, what a floodplain is, and where the blues came from
A Letter to Santa from Memphis, Tennessee
Dear Santa,
Hi Santa! My name is Maya and I am 8 years old. I live in Memphis, Tennessee, a river city famous for music and barbecue. I love singing and riding my bike along the river. My question is: when was Santa Claus invented? My geography question is: what is a floodplain? And my social studies question is: where did the blues come from? Thanks, Santa!
Love, Maya (age 8)
Santa’s Reply
Ho ho ho, hello Maya! A singer by the great river asks a fine question. Nobody flipped a switch and invented me on one single day. The idea of me grew slowly over many centuries. But if you want the time when the modern Santa really took shape, it was the 1800s, especially in America. That is when cheerful poems and drawings gave me my flying sleigh, my reindeer, my red suit, and my jolly belly. So the Santa you know today was mostly shaped about 200 years ago, even though my roots reach back much, much further.
Your geography question: what is a floodplain
A floodplain is the flat land that lies beside a river and can be covered with water when the river rises and floods. Your own Memphis sits along the mighty Mississippi River and its floodplain. Though floods can be powerful, the soil left behind is rich and good for growing crops, which is one reason people settle near rivers. Read more at National Geographic Kids.
Your social studies question: where the blues came from
The blues is a soulful style of music that grew up in the American South, especially in the region around the Mississippi River and your own Memphis. Its heartfelt sound came from the songs and stories of working people long ago, and it went on to shape rock and roll and much of the music we hear today. Explore more at Britannica Kids.
Sing a soulful tune for me, Maya. Yours warmly from the North Pole, Santa Claus.
