Santa Bombero and Juarez firemen deliver gifts to five thousand children

In 1939 a small boy went to the only fire station in Juarez at the time and asked for a Christmas gift; the chief told him to come back on the 24th. On Christmas Eve the fire chief dressed up as Santa and started giving out 300 gifts.

More than 70 years later the tradition has grown from one fire chief and a child to hundreds of firemen and thousands of kids.

More than five thousand Juarez children, in a line stretching for more than a mile, got their Christmas gifts early. The first family was camping and waiting since Wednesday morning, not caring about cold or hunger.

“It’s not about being cold or hungry, I care about my kids being happy,” said the first father whose children got gifts.

It was all done by 150 firemen, the mayor, and especially Santa’s personal representative, Santa Bombero.

“I want to thank the entire community on behalf of all firemen for their donations which made so many children smile,” he said.

For many families this is the only way their children will have gifts this Christmas

“One doesn’t have the money to get toys for the kids,” said one mom whose daughter was incredibly happy with her toys and books.

One boy has been coming for years, only wanting a bicycle, but always getting here too late.
This time, only minutes later, he rode away.

With families happy and every child smiling from ear to ear, two words rang in everyone’s mind–Feliz Navidad!

The fire department suspended all days off until Christmas Eve. They used every spare bit of time to work on and refurbish the toys and bicycles that would be given away.