Nicholas Leppenlüder
The man who brought warmth to our hearts through his humanitarian work.
Jon Stephenson
Sunday March 12, 2006

The Guardian
A great man has passed at the age of 592. Known by many names including Nisse, Le Père Noël, Weihnachtsmann and Father Christmas, Nicholas Leppenlüder was a public yet a private figure. He had an aura of secrecy about him as he would only show himself on the holiest of nights, Christmas Eve, and even then he preferred to remain unseen. The other 364 days of the year he spent with his family and friends at Polar Bear Lane 1, the North Pole.

Nicholas was born in the year 1414 to parents Heinrich and Hilda Leppenlüder. Heinrich was a skilled carpenter and ran a toy making workshop with his wife and their five children. When Nicholas was old enough he helped his parents by painting toys and later his father taught him the art of carving. Nicholas quite surpassed his family in his art and was contacted by the biggest toy making company in the fourteen hundreds, Spielzeug-Spaß Inc. Nicholas declined their offer but the company was relentless in getting his skills, even escalating to threats. Trying to escape the harassment from Spielzeug-Spaß Inc. Nicholas decided to move far away, his final choice, The North Pole. During this time Nicholas had met a girl, Anneliese de Vrijs, who later became Mrs. Leppenlüder.

In 1479, on his 65th birthday, Nicholas got lost in a snow blizzard while looking for one of his reindeer, which he kept for use of their milk, meat and pelt. Nicholas tried to keep warm but eventually suffered from hypothermia. Only minutes from death an angel appeared to him and said: “Nicholas. I will give you and your family eternal life if you agree to do one thing for me. Every year you must travel the world on Christmas Eve and bring joy to the life of children.” After his vision Nicholas managed to find his way home and then he told his family the news. Their responses varied but all were happy to see Nicholas alive.

In the beginning of the 19th century Nicholas and his family stopped making the toys by hand and started using big machines. On March 3rd 2006 there was a big explosion in the factory taking the life of Nicholas and two of his elves, Skippy and Droopy. The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined but terrorism is not a likely cause.

Nicholas Leppenlüder is outlived by his wife, Anneliese and their two children, Carlos and Jennifer, who will take over the role of Santa Claus.

Kofi Annan writes: My first memory of Nicholas was when he appeared to me as Santa Claus when I was five years old. He brought me a red bicycle with a big shiny bell. I rode that bicycle until I was nine years old, but then, sadly, it was run over by a car. Nicholas and I worked together on many humanitarian projects, including building schools in many African countries. But our most memorable project together was when we established peace in Rwanda.

Nicholas Leppenlüder, Santa Claus, born 1414, died March 3rd 2006, will be buried in a private cemetery on the North Pole. Those who wish to commemorate him please do so by making a donation to the Childhood for All Children Organization (CACO).