For more than five decades, different children from all over the world have been writing to Santa Claus – but this year all the little ones have one big wish in common.
St. Nicholas – Many children from all over the world write to St. Nicholas because of Corona.
On the wish lists sent to the Nikolaus post office in St. Nikolaus in Saarland, it is usually at the top: “That Corona is going away,” said Sabine Gerecke, head of the children’s letter campaign in the St. Nikolaus Festival Committee of the German Press Agency. A month before the post office opened on December 5, more than 3,500 letters had already been received for St. Nicholas. “That’s more mail than at the same time last year.”
The children’s lists also very often include the desire for an iPhone – “in all conceivable spellings,” said Gerecke with a laugh. In addition, all kinds of electronic devices are in demand. And younger children would like to see “classic” dolls, Lego or remote-controlled cars.
“All children receive an answer. But only from December, ”promised Gerecke. Many letters have also come from abroad: especially from Taiwan, Ukraine, Russia, Italy and Spain. At Christmas 2020, the volunteers had replied to 29,845 letters from children from a total of 45 countries – more than ever before.
For more than 50 years, children have been writing “An den Nikolaus” in the small town in the municipality of Großrosseln near the French border. According to Deutsche Post, it is the oldest Nikolaus post office in Germany. The partnership between the festival committee and the post office has existed since 1967. dpa
