Photo: Slavomír Kubeš, ČTK
Boží Dar in the Ore mountains is a popular Czech ski resort which almost always gets the first snow of the year. However, its claim to fame is linked to a special Christmas tradition. Its post office –which is closer to the sky than any other in the country- deals with mail addressed to Baby Jesus, the Czech equivalent of Santa Claus.
Even in the day of social networks and mobile phones, the tiny post office in the West Bohemian mountain town of Boží Dar – meaning Gift of God –is snowed under with mail at this time of year both from around the country and abroad. The post office annually stamps hundreds of thousands of Christmas greetings with a special Christmas stamp, making these cards and letters a popular collector’s item.
It is also the post office to which Czech children send letters addressed to Baby Jesus or Ježísek telling him what they want for Christmas. During the period of Advent the post office with its four employees gets on average 15 kilograms of mail a day, stamping letters and cards from morning till late at night. Last Christmas it processed 250 kilograms of mail, with some letters from as far as Japan, Australia, the US, Argentina, New Zealand and Taiwan.
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