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Potty-Mouthed 'Santa' Letters Horrify Canada

'Filthy' correspondence leads to suspension of volunteer program

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 14, 2007 12:17 PM CST
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(Newser) – Letters from Santa distributed to at least 10 children in Ottawa are smearing the good name of jolly old St. Nick, the Citizen reports: They contain vulgar messages written by an unidentified “rogue elf.” The head of Canada Post says the country's postal service is "shocked and heartbroken" by the letters, which have shut down the Write to Santa program.

Volunteers add handwritten postscripts to form letters to kids, but they're not supposed to ad-lib like this. One woman discovered inappropriate messages in letters to her 2- and 10-year-old children and called to complain. "'That’s like dirt in my mouth,'" she says a postal worker replied. "'I can’t even say it.'"

The Canadian Post's Write To Santa program is on hiatus until the source of the obscene letters is identified.
The Canadian Post's "Write To Santa" program is on hiatus until the source of the obscene letters is identified.   (Shutterstock.com)
The Canada Post has shut down its Write To Santa program while it joins the Ottawa police force to track down the source of obscene messages.
The Canada Post has shut down its "Write To Santa" program while it joins the Ottawa police force to track down the source of obscene messages.   ((c) Mykl Roventine)
Everybody here is so shocked, said Canada Post spokeswoman Cindy Daoust of the obscene letters. Disappointed doesn't begin to describe how we feel.
"Everybody here is so shocked," said Canada Post spokeswoman Cindy Daoust of the obscene letters. "Disappointed doesn't begin to describe how we feel."   (Getty Images)
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One bad apple is smearing the reputation of 11,000 "Postal Elves"
Northern Life (Sudbury, ON)

The letter-writing program's website
Canada Post

 
Canada • children • letters • mail • prank • Santa Claus

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