If ten, five or three years ago, children asked Santa for plush toys, puzzles, candy, balls, hats or gloves, now they ask for tablets, computers, iPads, iPhones, or simply: mobile phones without buttons.
In a world dominated by the Internet, the holidays have changed. Now we have: Santa Claus on Skype, Santa Claus online, Santa Claus on the phone, but still there is Santa Claus who responds to little letters in the traditional way, by regular mail. Each country has its own character specific to the winter holidays. In the Netherlands it's Sanderklass, in England - SantaKlaus, France - Pierr Noel, Italy - Babbo Nattale, and in Finland - Jolloupukkin. And in Moldova, the national character of the winter holidays is Santa Claus.
In a small workshop in the capital, a group of young people are in the middle of preparing for the holidays. Every day they read dozens of letters from children across the country and arrange them into categories. The project to which young people dedicate their free time is "Santa's Academy".Every year, the "Santa's Academy" organizes many activities on Christmas Eve, creating a festive atmosphere for all Moldovans, from small to large. In 2002, the official opening of "Santa's Mail" took place. In 2010, the "Tree of Surprises" was inaugurated, where every year anyone can fulfill a child's wish. The purpose of this academy is to inform the whole world about Santa Claus, his stories, or his image and traditions.
Iuliana Panuș is a student at a high school in the capital, but she also volunteers at the "Sidereal Moment" organization. Now the young woman is the coordinator of the project "Santa's Academy". She says that the academy works for free and those who want to can send a letter to Santa for free. "All the letters received are thoroughly analyzed. And when we receive letters from children from vulnerable families, we also call on the help of social workers from the localities where the letters came from, we check if the written ones correspond to reality and we try to help them ", Iuliana underlines.
As the "Santa's Academy" has more than 10 years of activity in the Republic of Moldova, the project coordinators say that every year the children's wishes are more and more exaggerated."It simply came to our notice then. The little ones wanted simple gifts: candy, nuts, dolls, sleighs, gloves, etc. In recent years, however, the desires are growing. Some children ask Santa for a four-room apartment, computers, plasmas, tablets, high-performance mobile phones, etc. Unfortunately, many wishes of today's children cannot be fulfilled ", says Iuliana Panuș.
Psychologist Larisa Mămăligă says that those who take responsibility for these whims are the parents, who cultivate materialism in their children. expensive. Lately, the little ones are realizing that everything they want is not brought to them by Santa Claus, but bought by their parents. That's why they allow themselves to write in their heads everything that goes through their minds. When such situations arise, parents should intervene gently and explain to their children that Santa Claus offers only symbolic gifts. At the same time, it is very important for the little ones to believe in the story ", mentions Larisa Mămăligă. Because information technologies are constantly changing and Santa's services are different. In the last few years, Santa Claus has made every effort to respond to e-mails received from children.
Diana Voloșciuc, a volunteer in this project, responds to children's messages received by e-mail. The young woman says that between two and ten letters come here every day.
"There are many funny moments in the messages. Some don't even say hello, but they come with a whole list of presents. Others write: "hello, old man, cmf, I would like a new PC", or "come on Merry Crismas". I answer them all and praise them for everything they have done ", explains Diana. Skype discussions with Santa
If you want to know how old Santa Claus is, where he lives, for whom he is preparing presents or to see his house with his own eyes, you can contact him via Skype. The duration of the card is 7 minutes. Santa, together with his team, will answer all the questions that will arise and will present you a real Christmas mini-story.
Anyone can write and send a letter to Santa. You don't need postage stamps or Santa's address - you can write a little mess on even a simple piece of notebook paper. Most importantly - don't forget to enter your address…
To date, more than 600 letters have been sent to the "Santa's Academy".
The most original wishes of the children: -A child sent a lion in an envelope and asked Santa to send it to the one who needs him most; -A little boy asked Santa to give his father a visa. -A boy from Nisporeni, who has no family, sent 10 lei and asked to be offered to children who do not have parents; -A little girl wrote that she wants her parents to return from abroad.