Letters to Santa Claus.
A very important question of children around the world is how to convey their Christmas wishes to Santa Claus. For the millions who write letters every year the question is how to get their letters to the right address. For this the post office has made special arrangements. In the United States, the U.S.P.S. Operation Santa Claus takes charge. In Canada children send letters to Santa Claus or Pere Noel at the North Pole, postal code HOHOHO. In Denmark Santa live in Greenland and letters are forwarded to him there through the Danish Tourist Association. In Norway Santa Claus lives in a town called Drobak and has his own postal station to handle his mail. In Germany they have a special ‘Celestial Post Office’ in the city of Augsburg to reach the Christ Child. In Austria kids direct their mail to the village of Christkindl, near Stryr, Upper Austria. Other methods of trying to get their wishes to Santa include putting the letter in the fireplace so the smoke will carry their wishes up the chimney and beyond until they reach Father Christmas. Or leaving the note in a shoe beside the tree or on the windowsill. Swiss children know their letters left on the windowsill have been received because of the chocolate left behind.
70,000,000 letters are processed each year with either the mark of a creche or the Three Kings, depending on whether the letter is mailed closer to Christmas or Epiphany. In Switzerland a December 6 post mark form the town of St. Niklaus is a collectible item.
A recent study of hundreds of American children revealed that boys and girls request the same amount of gifts, but that girls write longer and more polite letters. Select this link to view our Santa Ornaments.