Dear Christkind

It's a tradition for young children around the world to send letters to Santa Claus with their wishes for Christmas. German children, however, practice a slightly different tradition. They often send letters to the Christkind, who is responsible for bringing the presents on Christmas. The Christkind is a symbolic representation of the Christmas spirit that is often depicted as a Christmas angel.

Many of those letters land in a small town in western Germany called Engelskirchen. Translated, the town's name means "Angels' Church" - a fitting name for the seasonal home of a Christmas post office. The post office, located on the town's aptly named "Angels' Square," is one of six official addresses in Germany for letters addressed to the Christkind.

The tradition started in 1985, when other post offices around Germany weren't sure what to do with letters addressed to the Christkind.

"Since Engelskirchen was such a nice name, they ended up just sending them there," said Britta Toellner, a spokeswoman for Germany's mail carrier Deutsche Post. "And at the time, there was a manager here who opened the letters and saw that they were Christmas lists, so just for fun, she answered a few."

The Christkind's new home

Before long, a few turned into many, as mountains of letters started arriving in Engelskirchen. The postal workers started taking letters home with them to write responses to children hoping to hear from the Christkind. But at some point, it got to be too much to handle as a side project.

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We were getting so many letters from all corners of the earth that we decided to get organized," Toeller said. "During the holidays, we rent an office and have up to 12 helpers who answer the thousands of letters that come every day."

Last year, 145,000 letters were sent to the Christmas post office in Engelskirchen, and the number is expected to grow this year. Most of the letters are classic Christmas wish lists, with requests ranging from toys to companionship in the form of pets or siblings.

Wish lists

Answers to the letters are written very diplomatically, explaining for instance that not every wish can be granted. But the postal workers try and include a small gift to tide the children over until Christmas, such as small paper cut-outs.

While many children ask the Christkind to bring them presents, the Christmas post office often receives personal and endearing messages from children.

"For example, kids will ask 'Can you say hello to my mother? She's in heaven and lives with you there.' Those letters are tough to take," said Toeller. "Increasingly, they are also thinking of the bigger picture. We used to see lots of messages for peace on earth and goodwill toward people, which they often simply picked up somewhere, but now kids are noticing that something is not quite right with the environment. And they speak their minds about it."

The letters come from all over the world, some from countries as far away as Australia, Japan, or Togo. No matter where they come from, children write to the Christkind in the spirit of Christmas. And in that same spirit, the workers at Germany's Christmas post office in Engelskirchen write back.

Author: Guenther Birkenstock/mz

Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn