Santa Claus
Chahta Elder Stories: Rose BillyPublished December 4, 2025
About the time of 1944, my relative was in the Army and when it was close to Christmas, he received some days off and came and stayed. When Christmas Eve arrived, he said he had to go back so he would be leaving.
My father and mother took him to town where he was to meet the people carrier. After they had been gone awhile, my father, they came back and my father said, “Santa Claus is at the Mayhall house next to our house.” You all stand and if you sing that song that says, “Santa Claus is coming to town,” and when he hears you, he will come. There were four of us children. So, we all stood singing loudly and then someone banged on the door and my father opened it. It was Santa Claus standing there.
When we saw Santa Claus, we were scared of him and we all started crying. When he came in, he spoke the English language. He asked us questions but we didn’t say anything, just yes and no. He stopped asking questions and before he gave the boys a gift, he told them to pretend they were kicking a ball and hitting a ball and they did so, then he gave them their gifts. As for me, he told me to pretend I was holding a baby and rock the baby and told me how. I was standing there crying but I did it. Then he gave me a doll.
Santa Claus said he had to go back to the North Pole and he left. And after a long time, my relative came back in. He stood there and said he was supposed to go in the people carrier but he was slow for them and missed them so he just came back and we believed him. About two days later, we found out he had lied to us.