USPS reports that a large number of letters have touched on the pandemic, asking for cures for the virus, jobs for their parents and more.
Not even Santa can escape COVID. Ending the pandemic is one of the most popular requests on kids’ letters to the North Pole, something that’s both heartwarming and terribly sad.
The United States Postal Service Operation Santa published many letters from kids and families online, in hopes of encouraging others to respond to their requests. One of the letters succinctly reads: “This year, I would like end of Covid-19, world peace, climate control, new Xbox.” Another: “Dear Santa, I don’t want anything for Christmas, but I would like to ask you if you can do me a favor: Can you please find a cure for Covid-19 and give it to us to save the world. Thank you.”
This trend is one that’s been noted by the post office, exemplifying how much the state of the world is weighing on them.
Letters to Santa tend to be unusually sincere, with kids opening up and asking for material objects, the health of their family members, and other things they think will make them happy. But this year, those things have taken a backseat to jobs for unemployed parents and a cure for COVID-19.
Child psychologist Avital Cohen spoke with CNN and explained that kids view Santa as an open and trustworthy person, someone who’s in charge of spreading joy and making wishes come true. “What I read in these letters is that kids really are thinking about the needs of their parent or the world and not just their own desires this year (though of course some kids are asking for the gifts they want this year, which is to be expected!),” she said.
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USPS Operation Santa program started in 1912, with volunteers and organizations adopting letters from children, replying to them and fulfilling some of their gift requests. The presents and letters are then handled by the USPS, who’s in charge of delivering them to the right recipients. The whole process can be done online, with volunteers adopting letters from as many kids as they want.
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While most letters have been adopted already, Operation Santa officially ends on December 19. Packages should be dropped off at participating post office locations as soon as possible in order to be shipped by Christmas, even though they may still be shipped after the deadline.
