The Christmas season, for many of us, is a time for family and friends. It’s a time for showing gratitude to those we love and thinking about how lucky we are. There is also an element of magic surrounding Christmas, especially when we think about the way that Santa manages to visit millions of homes and bring joy to people all over the world in just one night.
The story of the Santa we know today began long ago. He started out as a normal boy who most definitely lived up to his name Nicholas, meaning
‘hero of the people
’. Even as a child, he spent much of his time helping those less fortunate than himself. Nicholas soon joined the church and became a bishop, continuing his mission to help those in need. One day he heard about a family who were so poor that they were going to have to send their three daughters away. Unable to see this happen, Nicholas found a way to place three bags of gold into their house; one for each of the girls. It is said that they fell into pairs of stockings or shoes that had been left in front of the fireplace to dry. This started a tradition that would continue across Europe and the world where children often leave stockings over the fireplace in anticipation of a visit from Santa.
On Wednesday the children arrived in their festive patterns and colours ready for a day of Christmas cheer.
The morning started with the children gathering around the tree to sing some of their favourite Christmas songs with the music team.
Hearing little voices joined together is something that we are lucky enough to hear on a regular basis, but this time the children were interrupted by a very loud knock on the door… “What’s that?” “Who’s there?” “Where did that noise come from?” As the door opened, one word filled the air, “Santa!”
Accompanied by his team of elves, his favourite Christmas tree and a sparkly fairy, Santa settled down in his favourite chair to listen to a story with the children;
They listened so well that he rewarded them with a special cookie to take home.
After an exciting morning, the children enjoyed a yummy Christmas lunch and then had the opportunity to show everyone their festive outfits during a parade around the building. They marched from floor to floor singing and dancing to their favourite music, excitedly waving at friends and siblings from different year groups. It was definitely a great way to end to a wonderful!
