There is a sad yet amusing story from my childhood on why I thought of this. Before I share that story, Joe, a close friend of mine since college sent me a private message on Facebook. We chatted for a few minutes about why my name is spelled the way it is. Then he sent me a link and asked me to open it.
I didn't have a clue what it was. I thought, it was a link to an interesting article he found online. I was really surprised to receive a animated video message from 2D Santa.
I was deeply touched. The simple gesture actually made my day. I mean, what a coincidence? Maybe the universe does not want me to hate Santa Claus for he, despite not being real, brings joy to people.
My Sad-Slash-Amusing Santa Childhood Story
I was already in elementary school back then. I think, I was in Grade 4 or Grade 5. I learned from someone that in order to get Christmas presents from Santa Claus, you have to hang one of your socks outside your door before Christmas eve. Long story short, I feel for it.
I decided to give it a shot. However, I was scared that my brother would laugh at me so I placed the sock on a door at the back of our house that was no longer used.
On Christmas morning, I hurriedly went to the back of our house. I was so excited but when I checked the sock, there was nothing. First heartbreak. Ouch.
I was really dismayed, but I did not remove the sock thinking maybe Santa did not came to our place yet because the world is so big. Maybe he was just late. I can't remember how many days it took before I realize that the story wasn't real. It isn't real. Looking back at that time, I can only laugh at myself. Then I wondered, how many children have experienced the same and got their hopes broken on Christmas day. This was the time when I thought of making the anti-Santa Claus campaign.
Why I Changed My Mind?
If it wasn't for the personalized message from Santa that my friend gave me, I would probably be writing an article about "why we should dismiss the persona of Santa Claus for eternity and why it is giving false hopes to children" instead of this one. I realize that my experience taught me a lot of lessons about materialism, being grateful, and the true meaning of Christmas.
How To Make a Personalized Christmas Message From Santa
Sorry for the dramatic intro. To start making your personalized message, just visit Google's Santa Tracker. Open this link (https://www.google.com/santatracker/#/village/callfromsanta) in your browser and you will be taken to a chat box. It works by chatting with Santa.
Simply reply with the information Santa asked and the friendly elves will generate the video message for you afterwards.
You have the option to download the personalized message as an MP3 audio file, share via link, email, or Google+. You can also send other holiday greetings, not just Christmas.
About Google's Santa Tracker
Google Santa Tracker was developed during 2004 with the main objective to educate kids about places they might not know about. It is more like an animation to keep kids occupied. Since then, the Santa Tracker has become a yearly tradition by Google and keeps getting better each year.
This 2013, Google engineers who volunteered for this project made a Christmas Village landing page and an advent calendar which unlocks fun animations and mini games everyday starting from December 1st until the 24th.
It's a fun activity to do with children while waiting for Christmas eve or during family gatherings.
Thoughts?
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