(You can read this tale yourself, or listen to me, the Dancing Fairy, read it in the video at the bottom of this page. And, if Christmas or Santa Claus don't belong to your traditions, or if you don't call him "Santa Claus", I invite you to read the tale anyway. I'm sure you can adapt it to your beliefs and needs, and find some magic in it. Anyway, enjoy it!)
In a land far, far away, where winter is very dark because the nights are so very long, and so much, so much snow falls, there is a forest—an enchanted forest. To make the winter a little less dark and a little more bright, the inhabitants of the forest hang countless crystals on the trees’ branches, so they reflect the light of the moon and stars. And the forest, full of tiny sparkling lights, looks even more magical.
In the middle of that forest, there is a little house made of wood and stone, where Santa Claus lives. He lives there with Mrs. Claus, in the company of fairies, elves, sprites, gnomes, genies, and many other enchanted creatures who help him in his tireless work.
All year long, Santa receives precious information from his helpers, who are invisible to everyone else. Oh yes, because the fairies, elves, and other magical beings who help Santa Claus in his mission spend the year traveling around the world, speaking to the angels—the angels who safeguard the dreams in children’s hearts and protect them.
There are children who wish more than anything in the world to always feel well—like those who often have earaches, or suffer when a tooth is growing in, or those who frequently have tummy aches.
Then there are children who dream of no longer being afraid of anything because something scared them so much, or maybe still frightens them.
And there are children who wish that the arguments in their families would stop forever, and others who, just to have a family or a home, would gladly accept the arguments.
Some children dream of growing up quickly to do a thousand things, while others never want to grow up so they can stay children forever.
There are children with special dreams and children who don’t know what to dream about.
There are children who seem to have lost all their dreams, but even if they don’t realize it, they still have at least one, deep in their hearts.
Because no matter what one might think they want or don’t want, every child has at least one dream in their heart, and only the angels know it.
That is why, throughout the year, the fairies, elves, sprites, and other invisible helpers of Santa Claus travel the world and ask the angels if they may share those dreams with him.
And so, during the year, Santa takes note of the dreams of all the children—each and every one of them—and prepares an incredibly long list. Then he gathers all the fairies and asks them to shake their wings, which shimmer with marvelous iridescent colors. The dust that falls from the fairies’ wings is magical and contains the most beautiful hues—an infinite spectrum of colors. A different color for every child’s dream.
Every day, Santa and all his helpers collect the fairy dust and its magic, right up until Christmas Eve. And at that point...
At that point, Santa calls his reindeer. They are no ordinary reindeer; they, too, have magic. Throughout the year, they frolic in the forest, playing with its inhabitants, leaping, and running without a care. But when Christmas comes, their magic awakens, because… because Santa’s reindeer can fly!
And when their magic stirs and the reindeer realize their leaps are carrying them higher and higher until they take flight, they rush to Santa’s call.
Santa Claus harnesses the reindeer to his magical sleigh. At first glance, it looks like a normal sleigh, but it can carry all the magical cargo Santa delivers on Christmas Eve. The sleigh is promptly sprinkled with fairy dust so it can fly, too, and then… Everyone is ready to go!
Santa loads an enormous sack onto the sleigh. The sack is filled with the magical fairy dust in all the colors of children’s dreams. And Santa sets off, accompanied by his elves and sprites and all the magical creatures who still want to lend a hand. He travels at lightning speed through the night, crossing the globe and reaching every place where there’s a child.
And magically, wherever and whenever the children are sleeping, Santa lets the fairy dust drift down over each and every one of them, with the color that’s just right for that child.
The fairy dust, being magical, knows exactly where to go. With its magic, it reaches the hearts of all the children. Its magic brings the certainty of being heard, the feeling of being protected and loved, and the impression that their dreams may come true very soon.
It’s a magic that helps everyone who receives the fairy dust in their hearts to feel they are never alone and can always succeed.
Some feel it as a pleasant warmth in their chest, others as a sense of lightness. Some wake up with a smile, others with a spark of curiosity. It’s always different for each one. And even if they don’t realize they’ve received the gift, it still works.
Over time, many other kind souls have thought to help Santa Claus too, making sure that the children receive other gifts—useful things, or toys, things to bring joy alone or in the company of others.
In any case, what you’ve just read, or just listened to, is about the gift that Santa Claus has always brought to all the children on Christmas Eve. And sometimes, Santa doesn’t worry about age when delivering his gifts. After all, no one can truly say at what age one stops being a child…
Monica Canducci, the Dancing Fairy
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