Santa Claus shares heartbreaking request from bereaved father

Caleb Sigmon is working as a Santa Claus this Christmas and one grieving father had a touching special request.

Caleb Ryan Sigmon, an actor, is working as a Santa Claus at the Georgia Square Mall in Athens, Georgia this month and has been sharing stories of his encounters on his Facebook page.

Using the tag 'Stories From The Big Chair', there have been cute ones and funny ones, as you would expect, but one in particular caught the attention of readers and has since gone viral.

In this moving account, Caleb describes the moment a grieving father made a very special request of Santa:

"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." 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. The camera snap was the only sound I could hear through the entire mall. Normally, I hear all kinds of music and sounds, but it was absolutely silent. After a handful of clicks, we walked over to the screen and he pointed, saying, "That's the one."

Photo via Caleb Sigmon/Facebook

Caleb writes that they gave the photo to the man for free, who said it would be a gift for his wife.

"The girl working the computer printed him a full photo package and he pulled out his wallet, saying that this was going to be his gift to his wife. 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 their eyes."

The post has been shared more than 55,000 times on Facebook and has generated thousands of comments from people who have taken Caleb's message to heart.

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