by Camille from Paris asks Santa if he gets Christmas cards, learns about the Eiffel Tower, and hears about his colleague Père Noël
Dear Santa, my name is Camille and I am eight years old. I live in Paris, France, where my grand-père says people will argue passionately about the correct way to eat a croissant.
Dear Camille, I have witnessed those arguments myself, and I have learned never to take a side while visiting.
Santa, I have three questions.
My first question is, do you get Christmas cards? I make one for you every year but I always wonder if it actually reaches you.
I receive millions of them, Camille, and every single one is read, even the ones with slightly crooked glitter reindeer. Yours arrive faster than most, in fact, since Paris is a short hop from the North Pole by sleigh.
My second question is about the Eiffel Tower. My teacher says it was only supposed to stay up for twenty years. Is that really true?
It is entirely true. The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 as a temporary exhibit and was nearly torn down afterward, but it proved far too beloved to remove. I fly past it every year, lit up gold against the winter sky, and I am very glad Paris decided to keep it.
My third question is about Le Réveillon. My family stays up very late on Christmas Eve for a huge dinner. Why do we do that instead of just going to bed early like my English cousin does?
Le Réveillon is a proud French tradition, a long, joyful late-night feast on Christmas Eve, often followed by Midnight Mass, before children finally find their shoes filled by the fireplace. It reflects how deeply France values gathering slowly around good food with people you love, which I personally think is a very wise way to spend an evening.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Camille Dubois
Paris, France
P.S. Say hello to Père Noël for me.
I will, Camille. He will pretend he does not know who you are, and then quietly keep your card anyway.
