海角大神

As Christmas approaches, children long for things: cars, laptops,聽dolls, electric trains. The airwaves are bombarded with news of Christmas sales barometers. A stressed-out society rushes to consumption.

But in Germany, children still write to the Christkind聽("Christ Child"), or to Santa Claus, in the hundreds of thousands 鈥� yearning not for only gifts, but for a bit of comfort and joy.聽

Since the beginning of the Advent season in late November, close to聽75,000 children have written to the "Christmas Post Office" of Himmelstadt聽("Heaven's City"). The tiny Bavarian聽village of 17,500 is one of seven towns with special post offices dedicated to聽receiving and answering letters with children's Christmas wishes.聽

"I write a letter. I sign it 'Your Christkind,' and I give the聽children a piece of advice. I send them a little angel, a drawing, a聽poem," says Rosemarie Schotte, who, for more than 20 years, has been in聽charge of the Christmas post office in Himmelstadt, working with 30 village volunteers to聽answer every聽single letter.

"We want to bring back the spirit of Christmas, which is a聽celebration of love, not necessarily big presents," says Schotte. "One has to聽look within one self, to remember how good you have it in life, be聽grateful to have a family."

The letter-writing tradition all started decades ago when a letter聽addressed to the Christkind ended up in Himmselstadt.聽Postal workers, not knowing what to do with it, just answered it. The聽following year, a few more children wrote. Over the years, what had聽been a few isolated letters turned into a flood.聽

In 1965, Germany's first "Christmas post office" opened in Lower Saxony's聽Himmelsth眉r, or Heaven's Door. Six other post offices聽in places with names associated with Christmas popped up, including Engelskirchen ("Angels' Church"), Himmelpfort ("Heaven's Gate") and Himmelpforten ("Heaven's Gates").

The letters addressed to Father Christmas, who is known in聽Germany as Saint Nicholas, end up in one of two places: Nikolausdorf聽("Nicholas village") in Lower Saxony or St. Nikolaus in Saarland.聽

The tradition is an effort to counter the encroachment of聽consumption on the spirit of Christmas. Schotte says part of the聽idea is is to get families closer together, by encouraging parents to聽write with their children.

So far, children from 70 countries have written to the Christkind in聽Himmelsfarhrt. This year, for the first time, children from聽Mongolia and Vietnam wrote.

Christmas' wishes come in all forms and colors.聽Children don't just want聽iPods and laptops. In their letters, they聽share a bit of their lives, and of their yearnings to have it better.

"We get to read about just about everything," Schotte says. "The children pour their hearts out."聽Mostly, they talk about things like their parents fighting, illnesses, and separations. "We try to comfort them, to make them trust life聽again," she says.聽

Schotte will answer each letter with a personal note, sometimes a poem or a drawing.聽She tries to聽transmit her own childhood traditions of candles, the advent聽crown, eating a few Christmas cookies, the family getting closer to聽each other.聽She wants to bring togetherness back into the lives of the children's聽families.

''When things aren't working in small circles, how can you聽expect them to work out in bigger circles? In politics, in the wider聽world?" she says.

There is always a reason to keep on writing. Schotte received a candy bar with one letter. "Dear Christ Child," the聽child wrote, "I am sending you this so (you) can get energy back when聽you give me my presents."