Franny Flies to Chile

Hi girls and boys, it's Franny just in time for another report back to Santa Claus, to find out how the kids of the world celebrate Christmas.

This week I'm reporting from the city of Santiago, that's the capitol of the country, Chile. Chile runs along most of the western side of South America. It's got a lot of mountains in the east and beaches on the west. When I landed my sleigh I noticed right away how warm it was. That's because it's summer in December down here.

The Southern Hemisphere is the opposite of the Northern Hemisphere, so when it's winter in England, it's summer in Santiago. That means the kids are on their summer break from school, the days are warm and very long!

I saw some Chilean kids getting ready to go to the Pacific Ocean for Christmas. Chileans call Santa Claus "Old Man Christmas." He still travels by sleigh to bring kids presents, but sometimes he'll get inside by going through the windows because the chimney's are too small!

Kids in Chile also spend a lot of the Christmas season with their family. The Christmas celebration starts on Christmas Eve as relatives visit and have a very large meal. Near midnight family members exchange gifts, and then in the morning kids open their presents from Old Man Christmas.

Just like everywhere, kids like to spend Christmas Day playing with their toys before the Christmas Day meal. Many families will go to their friends houses on Christmas Day, and some spend the day at the pool or on the beach. Then they have another big dinner with rice, various meats, pudding and a special fruit cake called "Pan de Pascua".

Christmas in Chile sure sounds fun! I hope all the kids I saw this week enjoy their families and food that are so important to them. Hopefully Santa will now be able to bring to Chile all the toys and games that the kids here like to play with.

Join me again next Friday at the North Pole Times to see where I go next. Every week is a new adventure for me!