Delivery Workers Venturing to Lapland on Bicycles for Santa Mission
In an extraordinary summer task, a group of three postal workers are setting off on a 3,000-kilometre bicycle journey from St. Nikolaus in Saarland, Germany, to Lapland in Northern Finland. Their destination? Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.
The trio, who met while on the national postal cycling team, will be riding on country roads, covering 200 to 250 kilometers a day. Accompanying them are two yellow postal bicycles and one mountain bike, without the aid of electric motors.
Their mission is to deliver letters and Christmas wish lists addressed to Santa Claus from the St. Nikolaus post office in Germany. This journey symbolises the link between the German Christmas tradition and the Finnish Santa Claus legend, highlighting a festive tradition rather than being explicitly charity-driven.
The postal workers will stop at postal branches in Bremen and Hamburg to collect wishlists. A support vehicle will carry clothing, tools, and spare parts for the journey. If they successfully reach Santa Claus Village, they plan to continue on to the North Cape, adding another 700 kilometers to their journey.
The Nikolaus in Saarland, who is delighted with his unusual summer task, has a wish for Santa: "I wish for Santa to reply to my letter," he says. Last winter, his volunteer team at the Nikolaus post office answered over 33,000 children's letters from around the world.
The main goal is the Santa Claus village, where there's also a post office that sends replies to the wishlists. The postal workers are collecting donations for the "Bunter Kreis Hagen" association, which supports families with seriously ill children.
The journey begins with the Nikolaus post office handing over a personal letter to the cycling trio. The actor playing Nikolaus sends greetings, wishes Santa success, and includes a postcard in the letter.
This effort is part of the German postal service's volunteer team that replies to children's letters sent to the St. Nikolaus post office. The postal workers have undertaken extreme tours before, including a trip from the Spreewald to Venice in 2024.
The journey covers nearly 3,000 kilometers, passing through Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, and is expected to last about three weeks. The postal workers are delivering wishlists to Santa Claus, hoping to receive a reply from Santa Claus in Finland.
The postal workers' bicycle journey symbolizes a connection between the German Christmas tradition and the Finnish Santa Claus legend, combining elements of lifestyle, travel, and sports. Their mission includes stopping at postal branches in Bremen and Hamburg, and they plan to donate collected funds to the "Bunter Kreis Hagen" association. Upon reaching Santa Claus Village, they hope to receive a response to their personal letter from Santa Claus, emphasizing the travel and lifestyle aspect of this unique adventure.
