Royston and Woking NEWS
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Who was Secret Santa?<br />
Here's the origins of the office ritual known as Secret Santa.<br />
It's believed that the birth of the Secret Santa stems from an American<br />
chap called Larry Stewart, who through his Christmas related philanthropy,<br />
mainly h<strong>and</strong>ing cash out anonymously to those less fortunate during the<br />
festive period, received the nickname 'Kansas City's Secret Santa'.<br />
Later in life Larry was repaid for his kindness by a cousin who helped him find<br />
a good job in Kansas City. He went on to make millions in the cable TV <strong>and</strong> long<br />
distance phone service industry.<br />
Larry went on perform r<strong>and</strong>om acts of kindness not only during the Christmas<br />
season, but year round. In 26 years he gave away a total of 1.6 millions dollars.<br />
He did this a hundred dollars at a time, <strong>and</strong> always anonymously.<br />
This legacy of anonymous gift giving is what continues in the Secret Santa<br />
tradition, a Christmas tradition that is practised by many in the western world<br />
(<strong>and</strong> <strong>Royston</strong>).......
Change language