LETTERS TO SANTA CLAUS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27570, 12 December 1950, Page 2

LETTERS TO SANTA CLAUS

NOTES FOR WOMEN

Hopeful Children Have Created Problem For Danes By Charles Croot, Reuter’s Correspondent in Copenhagen Santa Claus—head office address: Greenland, Denmark — is asking for help. In one Week in November, with the Christmas rush not yet in full swing, he had received 25,000 letters from British, American and ether children. He expects the total will grow to at least 100,000 by Christmas. '

For a number of years, a handful of children, mostly in Britain, have been posting letters addressed, variously, to “ Santa Claus, Toyland, Greenland,” in the happy belief that his enormous factories were based there. The British Post Office, knowing that Greenland is a Danish colony, h3s been sending the letters on to Copenhagen. Danish postmen, knowing that any official mail about Greenland should go to the Greenland Board, a department of the Prime Minister’s office which administers the colony, have been duly forwarding the letters there. In the Greenland Board, an attractive young secretary, Miss Gerda Stauning, amused herself for several years by acting as Santa’s unpaid, unknown secretary and replying to the letters. She enjoyed her correspondence, declaring that if a child took the trouble to write somebody ought to answer. In those days she had to deal with only a few letters every year. Then, one day last year, a British "journalist wrote about Miss Stauning and her work. Within a few days, Miss Stauning’s mail reached the 7000 mark. The Danish press became interested. The Tourist Association for Denmark spotted some good publicity in its slack season and undertook to answer all the letters, enclosing with the re-

plies a little fairy story in English by Hans Andersen, Denmark's master story-teller, and a picture of Greenland. This year the same British journalist heard that the Tourist Association was preparing to do the same again. It had a little surprise for any child who took the trouble to write to Santa Claus. Again he wrote a story. Within a week, 25,000 letters arrived at the offices of the Tourist Association. That was more than the association could cope with. In addition, as many of the letters had no stamps and _ each unstamped letter cost the association the equivalent of 4d, there W3S a fairly big bill to foot. An appeal is now appearing in the Danish press for money contributions and volunteers to help to reply to the letters. An official of the association told me, very guardedly, that response to the appeal had been immediate. “But,” he added, “ at the present rate we shall have a million letters next Christmas, and what shall we do then? ” Today, Miss Stauning’s little unpaid and unsung Christmas effort looks like becoming a Danish national pastime. But more funds will be needed. The cost of replying to 50,000 letters is estimated at £750 —including the little surprise. The Danes, however, seem to hate the idea of any child’s letter going unanswered and ample funds are expected to be made available.