Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
By the end of today, he can finally put his feet up, but what a busy year it’s been for Santa (AKA der Weihnachtsmann)! His post office in Himmelpfort has received a record number of letters and wish lists in 2020 - and the children aren’t just asking for gifts.
Children all over the world have been sending letters to Santa Claus at his post office in Brandenburg in the lead-up to the holidays. This year, the Himmelfort post office received more than 320.000 letters - a new record, according to company spokesperson Anke Blenn. Every letter that reaches Santa before December 24 receives an individual reply.
Last year, around 294.000 wish lists arrived at the post office. The previous record was sent in 2014 - the 30th anniversary of the Himmelpfort post office - when 312.000 letters were received. With 21.000 letters from 62 different countries, the number of messages from children abroad is also higher than usual this year. Last year it was 14.500.
Unsurprisingly for a year where we’ve talked of little else except the pandemic, the mention of coronavirus also made its way into plenty of the children’s messages. In addition to the traditional wishes for toy dolls, dinosaurs, police cars, fire engines and board games - or tablets and smartphones for the older children - many simply asked for their families to remain healthy or for “corona to go away”.
Some children were also concerned about how the coronavirus restrictions might affect Santa Claus’s present delivery schedule. A little girl called Nina had therefore written that Santa should please send her the roller skates she was asking for by post, in case he couldn’t come by himself.
According to Deutsche Post, the story of the Christmas post office began in 1984, when two children from Berlin and Saxony thought they might have some luck addressing their letters to Santa in Himmelpfort. A local post worker answered them, and the next year 75 letters arrived. Word gradually spread, and by 1995 Deutsche Post had to hire additional staff for the first time, to help them answer the mountain of letters.