Montreal, Canada, Dec 22, 2003 / 22:00 pm
Thanks to their prayers, everything for Christmas is back on track, said Santa in a letter to millions of Canadian children.
Santa sent the children the personal message Dec. 9 after a parade accident landed him in a Montreal hospital Nov. 30.
The recuperating Claus sent his message from the North Pole, via Shawinigan, Que., after receiving get-well messages from children across the country. In the letter, which was published in Quebec’s daily newspapers, Santa thanked the children for their good wishes and assured them that he was doing better.
It all began when Grade 2 Vancouver student Siobhan Desormeaux learned on the evening news that Santa Claus (a.k.a. retiree Roger Caron from Shawinigan, Que.) fell three meters from his horse during a Santa Claus parade in Laval, north of Montreal. The fall resulted in 12 stitches to the head and a short hospital stay.