The Nikolauspostamt in St. Nikolaus, Saarland, processed more letters than ever before this Christmas. The 44 volunteers responded to 31,636 letters from children from a total of 52 countries, as the St. Nicholas festival committee announced on Wednesday. That was 925 letters more than in the previous year. By far the most mail came from Germany (around 90 percent). According to Deutsche Post, the office in Saarland is the oldest St. Nicholas post office in Germany.
From abroad, most letters came from Taiwan (563), France (426) and China (281). This year there was also mail from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Georgia for the first time, as the festival committee further announced. The answers abroad were translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Hungarian and, as of this year, into Ukrainian. So far, Santa Claus has received letters from a total of 83 countries, it said.
For more than 50 years, children have been writing to St. Nicholas in the small town in the municipality of Großrosseln near the French border. The partnership between the festival committee and Swiss Post has existed since 1967. Every letter is answered and every envelope has a special St. Nicholas stamp.
Ten years ago, a good 18,000 letters were received in St. Nikolaus – according to the organizers the only place in Germany with this name. There are seven Christmas post offices nationwide to which children can send their letters to Santa Claus, Christkind or St. Nicholas.
