A man dressed as a Santa Claus holds a sign with an address for children to send their letters to during his first appearance of the year at the German Christmas post office in Himmelpfort, Germany, November 14, 2019. /VCG Photo

This is part of an annual event organized by Germany's Deutsche Post, located in the northern German town of Himmelpfort. Santa Claus is to answer thousands of Christmas letters from children around the world. /VCG Photo

Santa Claus and 20 helpers last year responded to 277,200 letters from 64 countries. They answered in various languages and also Braille. Each letter had a special Santa Claus postmark. /VCG Photo

The event began when the town of Himmelpfort's post workers received two letters addressed to Santa in 1984. This year, all letters received between between Thursday this week and December 15 will be personally answered and returned before Christmas. /VCG Photo