Three boys and a toy shaking Christmas

Three boys and a toy  shaking Christmas

(the story that shows to the world "The Secret Book of Santa Claus")

Marcelo Corrêa

To Irene, my guiding star, and our son João Pedro, strength of my steps.

Introduction

Don't stop dreaming, just because you're awake.

Cabinda, Angola.

A silent, star-filled night hangs low over a poor country village. On the floor of a small, thatched-roof house, between braided wood walls, sleeps a family of farmers: man, wife, and small children.

A soft yellow light from an old oil lamp reveals that the man is the only one awake. He holds his wife's hand near to his heart, her arms wrapped around his torso, as he looks over his children, thinking. He stays still for a very long time. Finally, he gives into his fatigue and the effect of the small yellow light. He gives in to sleep.

If it weren't for the symphony of animals and insects performing outside, the silence would have been complete. The city, and its stress and agitation, are a long, long, way away from here.

But all of a sudden, fully, completely, something extraordinary happens - the world around falls quiet. Slowly, a white light starts to grow from behind the curtain flaps on the front door, causing it to tremble slightly and spurting out a bit of dust from the yard. And then, a gloved hand, gleaming brightly in the night, touches and then moves the curtain. Without the family realizing it, a robust, bearded man enters, with hair as white as snow. He looks over the sleeping family, walks over to the man, and whispers carefully into his ear.

- I'm keeping my promise, Mafuca. Merry Christmas.

He smiles in his sleep. The visitor switches off the lamp, but his own soft light continues to shine. He leaves the shack and darkness falls again, as the sounds of the night begin to reappear.

The day breaks as the sun laughs brightly over the village. The two children discover, enchanted, a small balance hanging from the tree which hovers over the shack. The couple, just as happy, are delighted to see their children so happy.

But what promise was this, that was made to this African? And who was that old man? He couldn't have given anything better than a simple piece of wood attached to string? The answers to these, and many other questions, lie 100 years in the past, in a world far, far away from the scorched African plains.

The first toy

When we think about parts of the world close to the North Pole, like Lapland*, images of frozen and empty landscapes come to mind. But the first flecks of snow don't fall until October. From November to February, the snow really dominates the land, over which falls a long night that last almost four months, lit up now and then by the awesome Northern Lights. 

But Finnish Lapland has enchanting beauty both in Spring and Summer. No snow, but with sub-arctic temperatures. It's nice. Big trees, with brown, red, and orange trees, speckled across imposing mountains and along clear rivers filled with all kinds of fish. Apart from the drinking water, the trout that live in the rivers are the main reason we see otters, bears, and minks along the banks. In the forests the bears live alongside wolves, moose, reindeer, red foxes and bobcats. Up above, eagles and falcons soar majestically.

Just as in the rest of the world, you can see the North Star quite often here. And when that mysterious star appears, a little desire blossoms in the heart of those that see her, a desire to shine themselves. Especially in the hearts of children. That's exactly what two newlyweds felt, a young couple who lived here a long time ago, in the 1800s. Claus, and Catarina.