Dear Ernest,

I have a real problem. All of my life, my family opens presents on Christmas Eve. A friend of mine says that's against the rules of Christmas. I follow the updates from the North Pole every year but I usually have my presents opened BEFORE Santa is suppose to arrive. What's going on here?
Roger D. Hagerstown, USA.

Hi Roger,

The most important thing at Christmas is being together. Santa recognizes this and he works very hard to meet the needs and expectations of every family. Quite honestly, Christmas could be celebrated on any day of the year. It just doesn't matter to Santa. What matters most is that people get together and have a great time.

And that means sometimes Santa bends the rules or expectations for Christmas. Because some things such as family are just a little more important.

Now, you folks open your presents on Christmas Eve. Technically, that's a real breech of Christmas protocol. At the North Pole, for example, our Christmas party starts on Christmas Eve and we have a great time but we know we cannot open presents until Santa comes home and can celebrate with us. (We love to watch Santa open presents. He has every toy in the world but still he loves surprises.) So for the North Pole family, the rule is "wait until Santa gets home".

So you folks just have a different rule, that's all. And it's okay because you are just being together as family. This is part of the reason why Santa has such a large staff of elves around the world. When special needs arise such as pre-Christmas Eve delivery Santa's on the job.

Most of the world opens their presents on Christmas morning. And that's why we track Santa by the hour on Christmas Eve. Because most of the world is watching then.