by A stargazing boy in Phoenix asks how Santa started, what the Grand Canyon is, and what a Native American nation is
A Letter to Santa from Phoenix, Arizona
Dear Santa,
Hi Santa! My name is Aiden and I am 9 years old. I live in Phoenix, Arizona, a warm, sunny city in the desert with tall cactuses everywhere. I love basketball and stargazing on clear nights. My question is: how did Santa Claus start? My geography question is: what is the Grand Canyon? And my social studies question is: what is a Native American nation? Thanks, Santa!
Love, Aiden (age 9)
Santa’s Reply
Ho ho ho, hello Aiden! A stargazer in the desert asks a wonderful question about how things begin. I started with one tiny act of kindness, long ago. A generous man named Saint Nicholas quietly gave gifts to people who needed help, asking for nothing in return. People loved his goodness so much that they told stories about him, and those stories grew and grew over the centuries, like a snowball rolling downhill, traveling across many lands. Bit by bit, that small beginning became the great, jolly legend of me. The biggest things often start very small.
Your geography question: the Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is one of the most amazing places in your own Arizona, a vast and colorful canyon carved over millions of years by the Colorado River. It is so deep and so wide that standing at its edge takes your breath away. People travel from all over the world just to gaze into its layered, rocky walls. Read more at National Geographic Kids.
Your social studies question: a Native American nation
A Native American nation is a community of Indigenous people with its own government, traditions, and lands, here long before others arrived. Your own Arizona is home to several, including the Navajo Nation, the largest in the country. These nations keep their languages, art, and customs alive, and they are a proud and important part of America. Explore more at Britannica Kids.
Make a great shot for me, Aiden. Yours warmly from the North Pole, Santa Claus.
