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- Title
VĒSTULES ZIEMASSVĒTKU VECĪTIM: LATVIJAS BĒRNU VĒLMES, UZSKATI UN TRADĪCIJAS.
- Authors
Upeniece, Antra
- Abstract
Using the content analysis method, the present research analyses letters sent by children to Santa Claus in 2006. The study examines letters, including postcards and drawings, sent from various parts of Latvia, and is currently in the collection [2246] of the Archives of Latvian Folklore, not publicly available. The age, gender, wishes, and creative expressions of senders are listed by comparing them with each other. It is clarified what information is disclosed by children in their letters, such as success in school, family relationships, favourite occupation or toy. The study provides an insight into the tradition of sending Christmas letters in 2006, showing children's diverse views of who Santa is and what a Christmas letter should look like. The conclusions state that schools and parents are the most active in sending letters, while the image of Santa Claus is formed by the media and the traditions adopted by other nations. Children disclose a lot of personal information in letters, making it necessary to anonymize it completely and use it only for research purposes, without disclosing unnecessary data. Santa's visual image is understood in different ways, but the basic activities are all the same: it brings presents, sleds with harnessed reindeer, descends through the chimney, etc. More in-depth research, including other letters from children, would be needed to identify current trends and whether Christmas letters become a tradition.
- Subjects
LATVIA; FOLKLORE; SANTA Claus; FAMILY relations; CHIMNEYS; REINDEER; CHRISTMAS
- Publication
Literature & Culture: Process, Interaction, Problems / Literatūra un Kultūra: Process, Mijiedarbība, Problēmas, 2021, Issue 21, p155
- ISSN
2243-6960
- Publication type
Article