Don't believe in Santa Claus? 64 children from Mizoram would beg to differ

Over 64 children in the Christian - dominated Mizoram state still believe in Santa Claus visiting them on December 24 midnight with Christmas presents, prompting them to leave an empty plate near their beds for receiving the gifts. What happened in Saitual village, about 100 km from here, is out of the ordinary as 64 children received their Christmas presents inside the home of local petty trader Lalrinliana.

Lalrinliana and his wife were farmers who had discontinued with farming and opened their own grocery shop in their own house a few years back and were doing good business, one village leader of Saitual said. A few children of the village, learning about the generosity of the couple, began to leave their plates in their home on Christmas eve and were never disappointed.

The couple liked to play Santa Claus and more children came to their home for receiving presents during Christmas but this year saw the largest number of children coming for Christmas presents from the Santa Claus. Meanwhile, a small restaurant owner at Haulawng village in south Mizoram' Lunglei district also did something extraordinary.