A Father’s Letter to Santa
Courtesy of WBAL-AM Radio, Baltimore
Every Christmas Eve, Baltimore radio personality Bruce Elliott performs a live reading of David Chartrand’s famous essay, “A Father’s Letter to Santa.”
Click the play button above, and enjoy.
The essay first appeared in 1992 in my hometown daily, the Olathe (Kan) Daily News. The following year it appeared on the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal — on Christmas Eve. This picture of my son and his snowman appeared with the WSJ version.
Since then, “A Father’s Letter to Santa” has appeared in newspapers, magazines and on Web sites around the Globe. In 2001, the publishers of the popular “Chicken Soup” book series included it in a collection of the most memorable Christmas essays of all time.
The piece also produced more reader mail than anything I have ever written. Nearly 15 years after it first appeared, I still receive letters from all over the world. Like these:
Dear David . . .
“I still get more response from reading your Father's Letter to Santa than to almost any other single thing I do on the air. It's a tribute to your writing skill that the piece holds up wonderfully.”
— Bruce Elliott, WBAL-AM, Baltimore
“There are few writers these days who possess the ability to touch the human heart such as you have done with this composition. And for that, I thank you!”
— Mark J. Maggio, Ph.D.
Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Bldg.
Washington, DC
“What a powerful little column! I actually heard two people talking about it in the office. My wife called from work, sobbing. She said there wasn’t a dry eye in the office.”
— David Bates
New York City
“My reaction to your Dear Santa was, ‘Gee, I wish I had written this.’ . . .Keep writing wonderful articles and stories and know that you are touching a great many people.”
— Ralph Cooley, Richmond, Va.
“Shortly after the birth of my son, I read the enclosed column in the Wall Street Journal. I saved it and have read it many times over the past few years. Every time I read it, I’ve marveled at David Chartrand’s ability to express not only his wishes for his son, but also mine, and I’m sure, fathers worldwide.”
— R. Jack Innes, in a letter to the Wenatchee World, Washington
“I have just finished reading, ‘A Father’s Letter to Santa,’ for the third time this morning. And I just want to tell you how much it has touched my heart. I am going to save this clipping and someday when my little three-feet, six-inch girl becomes a mother I will hand it down to her.”
— Don Woehler
Evansville, Indiana
“Today as always I walk to my locker to change into my uniform. I look down and see the yellowed article [A father's letter to Santa] that I clipped from the Wall Street Journal.
It has been 9 years since I laminated it and taped it there. Almost every day I stop and read some of it.
On Christmas day I take it down, fold it up and take it to the Family Christmas dinner. There, I unfold it and try to read without a crackle in my voice.[That has never happened]. My son was 8 years old then and We have been fortunate so far. He is a great kid and will soon be embarking on his own life adventure. Wants to fly A-10's.
I am glad he will get to fly in the Air Force as his father did. But I have fear that my only son will have to face evil without his father to help protect him. Anyhow ,I just wanted to say thanks for the contribution to my life. I will pass this article down to him when he has a 5 year old. “ — Mark Logan, York Springs, PA
“Our Pastor read your Letter to Santa last Sunday and there wasn't a dry eye in the whole place, beautiful. I would like to email it to some friends. Could I get an entire version?”
— Nora Weber
“I had three grandchildren visiting me the other morning, and as I came upon your article, after reading the first paragraph, I decided it would be a good story to read to them. I was doing just fine until I got to the part about "never let him be sent into war". You see my little boy is all grown up and is a dermatologist in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Riley. He is a Flight Surgeon with an armored division and will have to go to war with them if they go. I'm not his dad, I'm his mother. His dad died one year after seeing him married to "that little girl destined to be his bride". He has two beautiful little boys of his own now and I'm sure he would write the same letter to Santa as you did.
Your story was very precious and very dear to my heart. Thank you. I am praying that the Lord will keep my son safe no matter where he goes.”
— Sylvia Harden
“I framed the dear santa essay when it came out and my son's are now sixteen and twenty this mont ... and the line about loving my country and not sending your son to war…really strikes home.. please email me the essay in it's entirety…thank you ..your work is a centerpiece framed that i cry when read every holiday season..Blessings to you and yours from Iowa.. the Heartland also.”
— Jane McCurdy
“Over the years it frequently had the power to bring tears to my eyes, even through the laughter at the thought of someone else wishing his son would “become a piano player, a soccer star, a priest. Or all three. Anything but a tax and spend Democrat.”
— Marianne Richmond, MBA MSW
St. Louis, MO
“I have to admit that I had never heard of you when I received my Wall Street Journal in my office on December 23, 1993. My only son (I have also been blessed with three daughters) was also five years old at the time, and I read and re-read your "A Father's Letter to Santa" many times that season. I remember faxing copies of it to friends with sons. I also made a point to save the entire section from the WSJ and take it out and place it on my desk every Christmas.
As I have watched my Kevin grow into a fine and fun young man, I have always thought of Max, and the other kids like Max, who were wide-eyed five year olds, it seems like only a few days ago.
When I pulled out the WSJ for this year's celebration, I am in complete shock and denial that Kevin is a high school senior, soon to be 18 years old.
There was no particular point to writing to you, just to thank you for so wonderfully capturing those feelings twelve years ago.”
— Patrick Dooley
