by Mei, age 7, writes to Santa from Shanghai, China, and asks who Shèngdàn Laorén really is.
Dear Santa,
My name is Mei, and I am 7 years old. I live in Shanghai, China, where her yeye says the tall glass buildings downtown look like a whole forest of ice when they light up at night.
Dear Mei, that is exactly the sort of detail I like to hear about Shanghai. It tells me you are paying attention to the world around you, which is the first step toward being a thoughtful person. Keep noticing things like that.
Santa, I have three questions. First, who is Shèngdàn Laorén? My dad says that is what some people call you where they live, but I do not really understand who that is.
Shèngdàn Laorén is what folks in China affectionately call my old colleague, and in most every way, he and I are one and the same spirit of Christmas kindness, just wearing a name that fits the local language and the local customs. Every culture has shaped its own version of the story over the centuries, but underneath all the different names, it is always the same idea: someone who shows up in the cold and dark of winter to remind people that generosity matters. I am honored to answer to so many names.
Second, my grandpa was telling us about the Yangtze River, the longest river in all of Asia, which empties into the sea near her city. Do you fly over that on your Christmas Eve route?
Every single year, without fail. The yangtze river, the longest river in all of asia, which empties into the sea near her city is one of the sights the reindeer look forward to most, and I always tell the new reindeer on the team to watch closely as we pass over, because there are not many views in the whole wide world quite like it. Rudolph usually slows down just a little right there, and I have learned not to rush him.
Third, is it true that in in China? My family was talking about it at dinner and I want to know if it is real.
It certainly is true. In shanghai, department stores decorate for christmas mostly as a shopping festival, since christmas is not an official public holiday in china. I think that is a wonderful thing for a family to talk about at the dinner table, because customs like that are what make China feel like China, and they are exactly the sort of thing that keeps a community close together, especially in the winter months.
Thank you for your letter and your good questions, Mei. Keep noticing the world around you, keep asking honest questions, and keep being kind to the people in Shanghai. That is the whole spirit of Christmas right there. Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Mei
Shanghai, China
P.S. Do you and Shèngdàn Laorén ever compare notes on which one of you has the harder route?
Constantly. So far it remains a friendly and entirely unresolved argument.
