Grieving dad’s photo of late baby son with Father Christmas goes viral

As the festive season rolls around once more, Father Christmases all over the world step up to spread joy and happiness to children (and, let’s be honest, adults too) everywhere.

But, this year, the Saint Nick impersonators have really raised the bar.

In this week’s issue, we reported the heart-warming stories of a Santa in Michigan who assured an autistic child that he’s not naughty, and another in Cleveland who communicated with a hearing impaired child in sign language to take her wish list.

And now another Father Christmas has moved the world, as a snap of him posing with a framed image of a tiny baby boy on his lap has gone viral.

While working in a mall in Georgia, Santa (who out of the festive season goes by Caleb Ryan Sigmon) spotted one man lining up, but instead of surrounded my excited children, was clutching a photo frame instead.

Sigmon wrote on Facebook:

“A man walked in today holding something in his arms. 'I have a request,' he said, turning around this picture frame.

"He took a moment. 'My son passed away, last year.'"

Sigmon told how, as he approached the grotto with his unusual request, the mall fell silent as people watched the emotional man ask for his Christmas wish.

“He choked up and couldn't finish his sentence. The entire photo set was silent.

"I said, 'Absolutely.' Without anyone saying anything, he handed me the frame and I placed it on my knee.

“In the photo, I could see on the little boy's armband that his first name was Hayden. I didn't ask any questions, but I am guessing that this is his first photo with Santa"

He goes on to explain that the man told him and the people on the photo desk that the picture was a Christmas gift for his wife, and as he chose the perfect picture and took out his wallet, the generous team refused his money and said the images were a gift from them to him.

“We gave him the printed package, telling him that it was a gift and that we would be praying for his family, this Christmas. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in and hugged me, then turned around and left. As he walked out, we all had tears in our eyes.”

Sigmon left a touching message at the end of his Facebook post, reminding us what the festive season is truly about:

“I'm sharing this to remind us all that Christmastime is unbelievably hard for some families. Pray for the brokenhearted. Smile at people. Just be kind. Love one another.”

So far, the post has over 54,000 shares on Facebook as it continues to capture the hearts of the internet.

Read the full post here:

ByHayley Kadrou