By Baqi Kopelman
Santa Claus announced, through a series of letters, that due to unpredictable conditions at the North Pole, this Christmas will be the last year his base of operations will be in the North. He has been working closely with an international scientific team to assess the long term conditions of the South Pole for his relocation.
Why Is Santa Claus Leaving The North Pole?
Santa assures the world that all the toys and gifts for this season will be prepared and delivered without fail from his current home at the North Pole.
"Shortly after this Christmas, I will be moving the entire workshop, the elves and the reindeer to a new location near the South Pole," Santa Claus stated in his letter. "The transition team, which consists of elves and hand picked scientists, have already completed the first fundamental steps in this move," the statement continued. "Future letters should be addressed to the South Pole.”
Santa also stated that the transition from north to south will be smooth and completed in a manner that will leave plenty of time to check on who has been naughty and nice for the Christmas season of 2023.
"I will be doing complete checks and reading all my mail,” stated Mr. Claus.
The change in climate and the future existence of the ice shelf that currently sustains Santa's workshop is so imperiled that the decision to move was clear and simple.
What Will Happen To Santa Claus's Reindeer When He Moves?
"Mrs. Claus was the first to know it just had to happen by next year,” Santa said.
The health of the reindeer was at first a concern for some on the transition team; further study, which resulted in a positive forecast for the physical well being of the reindeer, ended that early worry and the last hurdle was essentially removed.
"Now that we are fairly positive that the reindeer will not suffer any ill effects from the southern climate, we are ready to move forward," said an elven helper, adding that Argentina had initially offered to “provide reindeer feed and supplies” as needed.
How Is Climate Change Impacting Santa Claus's Workshop?
For many of us alive today, the notion that Santa Claus would not always be at the North Pole is inconceivable. For all of written and oral history, Santa Claus has always resided in the north.
"This is an incredible shift in our world that has been clearly caused by climate change," said a spokesperson for an environmental group that did not want to be named, who spoke unofficially on the subject.
There has been a great deal of activity recently in Antarctica by international scientific teams. None could be clearly identified as working directly with Santa Claus and no one has yet come forward. It is clear that a big part of this move is being done in secrecy. The isolation of Santa's workshop has always been important to the elves and their work.
"Change is often inevitable," stated Mr. Claus, "and should not be feared. This move should not be seen as troublesome nor should the children worry.”
An elf speaking without official capacity stated, "Mrs. Claus seems excited and happy about the change. We have all been living here a very long time and a change in scenery wouldn't be so bad. I also imagine the summers might be more pleasant. As the world around us changes, sometimes faster than we can predict, there will be many shifts that force us to make choices. If we make choices through a thoughtful process, we can actually improve upon what already is and perhaps find some benefit to these shifts.”
"I am excited to see that Santa Claus is acting before his only choice is to react," stated a senior scientist on the transition team in a phone interview. He chose to remain unnamed due to the promise he made to Santa Claus. "Many of us, who have been working closely with the elves on the move, are very excited to be part of history, yet we know that our promises of secrecy must be kept if we are to remain on Santa's good list.”
What Does Santa Claus Want Us To Know About Climate Change And Transition This Holiday?
Santa Claus has, in his letter, made some requests, that will help make the move easier:
Please try to get your letters for this Christmas sent out as early as possible so the elves can get busy on fulfilling the gift lists.
Some of the elves are working full time on the transition and this has increased the workload on those still in the workshop. Please help the kids get those letters out sooner than later this season.
Explain to the children that change is nothing to fear and often is the beginning of many good things.
Tell them that simply because something is different or new does not mean it is bad. In fact most requests for gifts are for new and different toys!
Tell the children that it is evermore important that they are good and behave well.
Although my home is moving and things are shifting, it does not mean that the rules of Christmas have changed: they had better not shout, they had better not cry…
Also, let the children know that resisting change is not the answer to our ever shifting world.
We must embrace the changing environment around us, no matter what the causes, and adapt to our new situation.
Fighting change puts one on the wrong side of the most powerful forces around us; take it from me, the world can change for the better.
Lastly, there is something you can all do this Christmas season to help each other and all of us at the North Pole: Please pass this message on to all those folks you know and even some you have yet to get to know. Be good.
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For more about Baqi Kopelman, visit baqikopelman.com.
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Featured image: SANTA IS MOVING (C) Baqi Kopelman
