In the case of Microsoft's website, nonetheless, there have been occasional unlucky results. In 2010, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" formed partnerships with public schools and social establishments to encourage kids to write down letters and make use of postcodes and stamps. In 2009, the Brazilian National Post Service, "Correios" answered almost two million youngsters's letters, and spread some seasonal cheer by donating 414,000 Christmas gifts to a few of Brazil's neediest residents.
Some national postal operators make it attainable to ship in e-mail messages that are answered by physical mail. All the same, Santa nonetheless receives far more letters than e-mail through the national postal operators, proving that kids still write letters.
Many other websites turned available 12 months-round, devoted to Santa Claus and purport to keep tabs on his actions in his workshop. Many of these websites additionally embody e-mail addresses or internet types which declare to allow kids to ship e-mail to Santa Claus. One specific website called emailSanta.com was created when a 1997 Canada Post strike prevented Alan Kerr's young niece and nephews from sending their letters to Santa; in a couple of weeks, over 1,000 emails to Santa had been obtained, and the location had acquired 1,000 emails a day one yr later. Some web sites, similar to Santa's page on Microsoft's former Windows Live Spaces or emailSanta.com, nevertheless have used or nonetheless use "bots" or different automated programs to compose and ship personalized and realistic replies.
A letter to Santa is often a child's first experience of correspondence. Written and sent with the assistance of a father or mother vintage t-shirts or instructor, youngsters learn concerning the construction of a letter, salutations, and using an address and postcode.
Wodan's function in the course of the Yuletide interval has been theorized as having influenced ideas of St. Nicholas in a variety of sides, including his long white beard and his grey horse for nightly rides (compare Odin's horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American custom. During the Middle Ages, usually on the night earlier than his name day of 6 December, children were bestowed presents in his honour. This date was sooner than the unique day of items for the youngsters, which moved in the course of the Reformation and its opposition to the veneration of saints in many international locations on 24 and 25 December.
The customized of gifting to youngsters at Christmas has been propagated by Martin Luther as a substitute for the previous very fashionable gift custom on St. Nicholas, to focus the curiosity of the children to Christ instead of the veneration of saints. Martin Luther first advised the Christkind as the bringer of items. Santa Claus is usually depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man—generally with spectacles—wearing a pink coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white-fur-cuffed pink trousers, red hat with white fur, and black leather belt and boots and carrying a bag stuffed with items for children.
Writing letters to Santa Claus has been a Christmas custom for youngsters for many years. These letters usually include a wishlist of toys and assertions of good conduct. Some social scientists have discovered that girls and boys write various kinds of letters. Girls generally write longer however extra well mannered lists and express the character of Christmas extra of their letters than in letters written by boys.
In France, by 6 December 2010, a team of 60 postal elves had sent out reply cards in response to 80,000 e-mail on-line request varieties and more than 500,000 physical letters. These letters could also be answered by postal workers or outside volunteers. Writing letters to Santa Claus has the academic advantages of promoting literacy, computer literacy, and e-mail literacy.
This image became in style within the United States and Canada in the 19th century because of the significant affect of the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and caricaturist and political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This image has been maintained and bolstered by way of track, radio, tv, children's books, movies, and advertising.