Secret Santas make the magic

Secret Santa has returned to the North Pole until next year. Secret Santa has been around for a long time. The tradition of Secret Santa originally came from Scandinavia, a game called Julklapp. An elf would leave a gift at someone’s door, knock on the door, and run away. In the United Kingdom it’s called “Kris Kringle.” In Germany, Secret Santa is called “Wichteln” which means “elf.”

The game begins when each player fills out a questionnaire that asks you to list the kind of music you like, your favorite candy, or whether you prefer beer or wine.

Secret Santa has always been popular in schools, workplaces, and groups because it takes away the pressure of buying everyone in the office or group a separate gift. It also makes gift-giving more exciting because the joy of giving a surprise gift is coupled with the thrill of receiving an anonymous present yourself.

It is not surprising that you can “play” secret Santa on the internet with strangers from all over the world. Players set up video-chat parties where they open their gifts and reveal their true identities.

Everyone enjoys finding a surprise gift-box nestled under the tree with your name on it. You pick it up and shake it gently. What could it be? Who is it from?

Larry Dean Stewart became an extraordinary real-life Secret Santa. He was not a jolly round man with a long white beard, he was just a regular guy who lived in Kansas City. In 1979 he was fired from his job — right before Christmas.

Stewart was sitting in a diner, broke, depressed and feeling sorry for himself. He looked out the window and saw a carhop, wearing a thin jacket, serving the cars in the cold. She looked more miserable than he felt. As he left, he gave her $20. Suddenly her lips began to tremble and tears rolled down her cheeks. That’s when he realized that it was more meaningful if you just handed cash directly to people so they did not have to beg for it, get in line for it, or apply for it.

Later, he made millions in cable and long-distance calling but he never forgot how miserable and alone he felt that Christmas, so he began to hand out $100 dollar bills to people in laundromats, diners and bus stations. It is estimated that Stewart handed out more than $1.3 million over the years. Diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2006, he began “training” other Secret Santas to carry on the tradition.

There is a gaggle of Secret Santas who anonymously drop a South African gold Krugerrand into Salvation Army red kettles. Santa can really get around in that souped-up sleigh because gold coins have been dropped in red kettles in Missouri, Texas, Indiana, Oklahoma and yes, even in South Carolina. A Krugerrand, valued at $1,200, was dropped into a Salvation Army kettle during a fundraising drive at a Walmart store in Tega Cay in 2017.

Secret Santas spread the true joy of giving and touch lives with their generosity. They bring mystery and excitement to the holidays. But, Secret Santa is not just for Christmas, their elves are around all year spreading their magic. They collect toys for children, and coats to keep them warm. They work in soup kitchens to feed the less fortunate, they bake pumpkin bread for the lonely widow down the street and cut the grass of their neighbor who is in the hospital. They perform a million acts of kindness all year long and leave cookie crumbs of happiness where ever they go.