by Nimal from Colombo asks Santa about wearing Christmas pajamas, learns Sri Lanka is an island, and hears about the island’s tradition of holiday tolerance
Dear Santa, my name is Nimal and I am eight years old. I live in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where my amma says it is warm enough on Christmas Day that nobody has ever once needed a coat.
Dear Nimal, I fully believe your amma, and I always pack my lightest boots specifically for your part of the world.
Santa, I have three questions.
My first question is, can I wear Christmas pajamas even though it is much too hot for a sweater like the ones I see in movies? My cousin from London wears a thick one and I do not understand how.
Absolutely you can, Nimal, and I fully endorse the lightweight, breezy version. Christmas pajamas come in every fabric imaginable, and comfort in your own climate always beats matching a snowy movie you have never actually lived in.
My second question is about our country. My teacher says Sri Lanka is completely surrounded by water. Is that true?
It is, Nimal. Sri Lanka is an island nation sitting in the Indian Ocean, shaped a bit like a teardrop, and approaching it by sleigh means crossing open sea the whole way, which the reindeer secretly enjoy for the fish smell, though I have never told them that is a strange thing to enjoy.
My third question is, why does my whole neighborhood celebrate Christmas together even though most people are Buddhist or Hindu here, not Christian like our family?
That is one of the loveliest things about Sri Lanka, Nimal. Christmas is a public holiday there and neighbors of every faith often join in the lights, the music, and the goodwill, even if they celebrate their own holidays differently the rest of the year. Naththal Seeya, as Sri Lankans sometimes call me, has always felt very welcome in a country that shares its joy so generously across traditions.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Nimal Fernando
Colombo, Sri Lanka
P.S. Do the reindeer really like the smell of the sea?
Comet especially, Nimal. He has never explained why, and I have stopped asking.
