by Alina, age 8 from Palikir, Micronesia, asks Santa about the Christmas Shoes song, Micronesia’s scattered islands, and its blended traditions.
Dear Santa, my name is Alina, and I am eight years old. I live in Palikir, Micronesia, where my dad says our whole country is made up of more than six hundred tiny islands scattered across a huge stretch of ocean.
Dear Alina, six hundred islands makes for one of the most spread-out, careful routes on my entire Pacific journey, your dad picked a wonderfully vast hometown.
Santa, I have three questions.
Do you know Christmas shoes lyrics? My mom cries every time that song plays on the radio and I want to understand why.
It is not really my place to recite someone else’s song, Alina, that one belongs to the singer who wrote it. What I can tell you is that it is a very touching song about giving from the heart, and songs like that have a way of moving grown-ups especially. Ask your mom to tell you the story behind her tears sometime, that might mean more than the lyrics themselves.
My teacher says Micronesia is made up of over six hundred islands spread across a huge area of the Pacific Ocean. Is that true?
It is true, Alina, the Federated States of Micronesia stretches across an enormous swath of the Pacific, hundreds of islands scattered like stepping stones. I plan my route through your country very, very carefully every year.
My dad says a lot of our traditions blend American influence with our own local Pacific island customs. Is that true?
It is true, Alina, Micronesia’s history includes a long period connected to the United States, which blended with rich, existing island traditions to create something wonderfully your own. That mixing of old and new into something unique is really a beautiful thing to witness on my route.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Alina Nakamura
Palikir, Micronesia
P.S. Will you ask my mom to tell me the story behind her tears?
That sounds like exactly the kind of question worth asking her yourself, Alina, some stories are better heard from the people who feel them.
