by A train-loving boy in Chattanooga asks if Santa is real for kids, what a river meander is, and how Chattanooga cleaned its air
A Letter to Santa from Chattanooga, Tennessee
Dear Santa,
Hi Santa! My name is Ezra and I am 7 years old. I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a city wrapped in green mountains beside a big bending river. I love trains and climbing on the rocks. My question is: is Santa Claus real for kids? My geography question is: what is a river bend, or meander? And my social studies question is: how did Chattanooga clean up its air to become green again? Thanks, Santa!
Love, Ezra (age 7)
Santa’s Reply
Ho ho ho, hello Ezra! A train-loving rock climber asks a wonderful question. Yes, I am real, and I am especially real for children like you who keep their hearts open to kindness and wonder. The magic of Christmas is real like a dream that comes true a little more each time you are good and giving. Grown-ups sometimes forget how to feel it, but children remember beautifully. So believe your happy heart, Ezra. For every child who believes in kindness, I am as real as can be.
Your geography question: a river meander
A meander is a big, looping curve in a river. Your own Chattanooga sits beside a dramatic bend in the Tennessee River, where the water swings in a great horseshoe shape. Rivers form meanders over time as the flowing water slowly wears away one bank and builds up the other, snaking back and forth across the land. Read more at National Geographic Kids.
Your social studies question: cleaning up the air
Long ago, your own Chattanooga had some of the dirtiest, smokiest air in the country because of its many factories. But the people decided to change that. They worked hard to clean up the pollution, and today the city is known as a green, healthy place with fresh air. It is a hopeful story showing that a community can heal its environment when it tries. Explore more at Britannica Kids.
Watch a train roll by for me, Ezra. Yours warmly from the North Pole, Santa Claus.
