The pandemic has also left its mark on many wish lists. The Christmas post office in Himmelsberg is currently working on piecework to answer all letters.
Himmelsberg – Whether Lego toys, a dried pig’s ear for the wire-haired dachshund or a walk with Santa Claus: The Christmas post office in Himmelsberg, Thuringia, reaches around 200 letters every day during Advent.
“The wish lists are designed very differently and some children already know exactly what they want,” said Manuela Verges from the responsible Heimatverein in Himmelsberg.
Sometimes the wishes are very simple. For example, one child wished for a flower and another a broom or a grill to help dad, Verges said. Often small gifts for Santa Claus such as tea, chocolates or gummy bears are included. Before the pandemic, many children would have wished for peace. Now, however, health and the possibility of going to school are increasingly on the wish lists.
Mail from all over the world
According to Verges, the Christmas post office in Himmelsberg has received almost 3,000 letters in the past three weeks. Of these, 2300 could already have been answered. Most of the mail comes from Thuringia and all of Germany. But children from Taiwan, China and Russia also wrote to Santa Claus. The Christmas post office is run by nine women a week. “We hope that we can do everything and answer the letters that will arrive by December 20th.”
Last year, according to Verges, the Christmas post office in Himmelsberg received around 7,000 letters. The same number is expected this year. The Heimatverein of the Sondershäuser district of Himmelsberg has been opening the Christmas post office regularly for 26 years. dpa
