By NADIRA FOSTER-WILLIAMS
A cheery troop of mostly gap-toothed first and second graders of PS 33 serenaded Santa and his elves with holiday favorites to kick off the annual Operation Secret Santa on Tuesday at the James A. Farley Post Office in Midtown.
The Farley office is the flagship center for the event where the “Letters to Santa” tradition began 99 years ago and has spread to 75 cities.
The post office has been known to receive up to 1 million letters in a year.
Taniyah Hall, sat in a circle with her friends, Lailah Ortiz, Sari Bell, and Tracy Zhu, all age 7.
“I asked for furniture for my mom and an American Girl doll- and fun loon,” said Hall grinning.
“Its Rainbow Loon!” exclaimed Ortiz, “Show her Tracy!”
Zhu pulled a long rainbow necklace made from rubber bands from her sleeve.
“It’s not mine, I have to give it back to Lamartha at lunch,” she said, wearing a red and green elf hat.
Santa Claus sat behind them reading from a scroll as children
“That’s not the real Santa,” said Ortiz with certainty, “He doesn’t have his reindeer. Santa only comes out at night and with his reindeer.”
The costumed Santa had his own long snowy white beard and let out loud “Ho-ho-hos” that sent the children leaning back in their seats.
“They ask for the usual and then the unusual,” explained the Santa, “One child today, asked for his mother’s shoulder to get better. I asked him if she fell and he said, she just woke up in pain. I told him, ‘Pray for Mama, that’s the best thing you could do.’”
The boy was not sure that his prayers were working but insisted he would keep trying.
“I explained that I think it is a matter of faith, which is all that we do here. Keep the faith,” Santa said warmly.
Postal officials make the letters to Santa addressed to the North Pole available to the general public, encouraging people to fulfill the wishes expressed or to donate to various charities. “We have ‘elves’ open and prepare the letters accordingly,” explained spokeswoman Darleen Reed. “The letters need to be redacted, which means addresses, phone numbers, and ages need to be blacked out for the sanctity of the mail.”
After letters are redacted, the letters are assigned a number to which their information is linked. Operation Secret Santa purchases the gift, and the ‘elves’ or chosen Postal Service employees have it wrapped and ready for the parent of the child to indicate if they would like to pick up the gift, or have it placed under the tree, etc.
Chief Elf, Peter Fontana is exclusive to the Farley Post Office and has been granting Christmas wishes since 1995, but he was once more humbug than good natured about it.
“Initially I just wanted nothing to do with it” Fontana confessed.”but I fell in love with it and now I can’t see anyone running it but me.When I saw the miracles we are capable of with this project, I was convinced.”
Fontana remembered a Christmas not long ago:
“There was a mother who wrote to Santa and she had a special needs child in need of a specific wheelchair, priced at $20,000. The media wanted to cover the story, they did, and the next day, that wheelchair was here, waiting for that child.”
Not all Operation Santa believers are little kids.
“One kid wrote to us because he was dropping out of high school,” recalled Fontana, “His mom couldn’t work, she was recently divorced and the responsibility fell on him.The kid wanted to be an actor. A Broadway director was here and got a hold of his letter and put the kid through acting school, and he started doing films, supporting his family all the way through.”
“I go home at night, and I have never slept better…this program keeps the spirit of Santa alive, we get letters from around the world and we never give up hope,” Fontana concluded.
When he was young, Fontana was traumatized to find his own father putting on a Santa suit.
“But, I still believe in the spirit of Santa, I really do,” he affirmed, “It really is magical.”
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