Children have been writing to St. Nicholas for decades. The officials at the St. Nicholas Post Office have their hands full. Because mail from adult children is also welcome – and will of course be answered.
St. Nikolaus – The Nikolaus post office in St. Nikolaus in Saarland is happy about a record: More than 30,000 letters from all over the world have been received before Christmas, the St. Nikolaus Festival Committee informed the German Press Agency on Tuesday.
There are more than ever before. At Christmas 2020, the volunteers had replied to 29,845 letters from children from a total of 45 countries. 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.
The 30,000 mark was cracked on the fourth Advent, reported Sabine Gerecke, head of the children’s letter campaign. This year there were also many letters from “older children”: At the end of November, the post office announced that adults of all ages could write to St. Nicholas – and would also receive answers.
Also post from retirement home
“There came a lot of letters straight away,” said Gerecke. There were also inquiries from children who, for example, wanted a letter for their grandmother in the retirement home or for their grandparents at home. There were also groups in retirement homes who sent St. Nicholas a greeting or a poem – and then received a letter of reply. Anything is possible, said Gerecke. “We are pleased that our idea has been accepted.” The St. Nicholas post office is open until December 24th.
According to the Deutsche Post, St. Nikolaus is the oldest Nikolaus post office in Germany. The partnership between the festival committee and the post office has existed since 1967. In Germany there are seven Christmas post offices where children can send their letters to Santa Claus, the Christ Child or Santa Claus. dpa
