Canadians can write to Santa in the language of their choice, Canada Post says, after some express confusion
Canadians can write to Santa in the language of their choice, Canada Post says, after some express confusion
After some expressed confusion online over what languages Canada Post will accept from Canadians writing to Santa this holiday season, the corporation says it accepts letters in any language.
On Friday, Canada Post shared a list on its verified Instagram account of 38 languages, including Braille, that Santa could respond to as part of the corporation's letter-writing program.
Some users noted in the comments of the post that commonly spoken languages in Canada such as Punjabi, Tagalog and Farsi were not included, which prompted responses from Canada Post saying its team is working on adding those languages in the future.
According to the 2021 Canadian census, 520,390 people reported they speak Punjabi most often at home, with 275,045 reporting the same for Tagalog or Filipino, and 179,745 for a Persian language.
Mandarin and Punjabi are the most common non-official languages used in Canada, with more than one million people predominantly speaking one of the two.
However, a spokesperson for Canada Post said in an email to CTVNews.ca on Saturday that the corporation does not typically publish a list, given it has constantly evolved over the years, and that the message should be, "We Answer in Your Language."
The spokesperson said Canadians wanting to write to Santa can do so in whichever language they choose and that this would be clarified in its Instagram post.
"The inclusive spirit of the Santa Letter program is that any child who writes to Santa in their language will receive a response in their language," the spokesperson said.
"Like Santa, we value the diversity that makes Canada such an amazing country. Over the last 40 years we've been helping Santa with his letters, the number of languages has evolved and that continues to this day. Every child is important to Santa and we are proud to help him respond to over a million letters a year to children in Canada and around the world."
Those writing letters are asked to send them by Dec. 9, with Santa's address and a return address included, in order to receive a reply before the holidays.
No postage is required and the Canada Post spokesperson said drawings and artwork are always appreciated.
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