Former President John F. Kennedy's letter reassuring a young girl that Santa was safe during the Cold War is being featured this month in Boston.
The JFK Presidential Library and Museum is displaying a carbon copy of the letter along with other holiday-themed artifacts in its lobby.
Kennedy's 1961 letter was addressed to an 8-year-old Michigan girl, who wrote to the president about her concerns that the Russians would kill Santa if they tested a nuclear bomb in the North Pole.
“Please stop the Russians from bombing the North Pole,” 8-year-old Michelle Rochon, of Marine City, pleaded, according to the Associated Press “Because they will kill Santa Claus.”
“You must not worry about Santa Claus,” Kennedy wrote back. “I talked with him yesterday and he is fine. He will be making his rounds again this Christmas.”
He also reportedly expressed he was not just concerned about the Russians for Santa's sake, but for all countries of the world.
The Soviets went ahead with the test at the North Pole two days after Kennedy's letter. AP reports they dropped a bomb 1,570 times more powerful than the bombs the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II -- combined. The so-called "King of Bombs" shattered windows in Norway and Finland.
TEGNA Staff contributed to this report.
