Santa does not speak every language the way people do in their homes and schools. I do not know how to use all the right words in French, or German, or Japanese the way teachers and parents do. But you see, Christmas has a magic all its own and that magic gives me something even better than words. It lets me understand the hearts of children everywhere.

When a little one in Mexico whispers a wish in Spanish, or a child in Italy sings a carol in Italian, or a boy or girl in Africa writes Santa a letter in Swahili, the magic of Christmas carries their words straight to me. I don’t need to worry about grammar or accents because Christmas magic translates it perfectly.

Letters from around the world arrive at the North Pole every single day. Some are written with beautiful handwriting, some with big, bouncy letters, and some with just a picture or even a scribble from tiny hands still learning to write. No matter how they look, I can always read them. The ink seems to sparkle as the Christmas magic tells me exactly what each child meant to say.

And when children don’t use words at all — maybe they’re too shy to ask or their voices are too quiet — I still hear them. A Christmas wish doesn’t always have to be spoken. Sometimes it’s in the way eyes shine when they see a Christmas tree or in the way a child hugs someone they love. All of those wishes reach me too!

So even though I may not speak every language the way people imagine, I can always understand. And the most wonderful part is this — every child’s voice in every corner of the world comes together like one big Christmas song. Each voice is different—soft, loud, fast, slow — but when I listen, it blends into the most beautiful music you could ever imagine.

In the same way, when Santa speaks to a child, Christmas magic enables children to hear me in their own language.

Now, you might better understand some of the many wonderful things that Christmas magic accomplishes throughout the world besides toy making and flying reindeer.

And between you and me …. the elves insist that I do speak at least one language better than anyone else — toy language! They say that I can talk to teddy bears, dolls, rocking horses, and even toy trains. Why, just the other day, a stuffed bunny told me he was very ticklish in his left ear and a race car asked for an extra loop on the track this year!