Saturday, December 17, 2011

Sending a letter to Father Christmas in Ticino

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air."
W. T. Ellis

The children wishing to write a letter to Father Christmas or Baby Jesus (Gesù bambino) will not be disappointed. Usually the post would send such "ficticious" letters back to the sender with the words "recipient unknown". However, the Swiss post has set up a special team located in Chiasso who will endeavor not only to respond to the letters but also send a small gift.

The six employees of the "Baby Jesus and Father Christmas" office are in charge of dividing the letters depending on their origin. If possible, they will send a reply signed by the Gesú bambino or Father Christmas in one of the four national languages  or in English. They will also attach a gift and a little story. 

This year, the protagonists of the story - designed in collaboration with WWF - will be a family of panda bears. A Christmas stamp has been created and the postmark originates directly from the Bethlehem post office in Berne.

Last year, Baby Jesus and Father Christmas received nearly 17,000 letters from children asking for a gift or sending good wishes. Most of the letters came from the Romandie, followed by Ticino, the Swiss German part and Switzerland's Romansh population. More than 200 letters arrived from abroad. In 96% of the cases the good souls at the Bethlehem post office managed to reply. 

Therefore, if you're children wish to send a letter to Father Christmas or Gesù bambino, go ahead and give them a hand. Just make sure they include their home address in order to receive a timely answer.

Let them invent Father Christmas' address, I'm sure it will make you smile!



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