St Nikolaus, Germany - (DPA) When children write polite letters to Santa Claus saying they have been well behaved and are hoping for a special present at Christmas, the German postal service delivers them to St Nikolaus and several other towns with Christmas-like names.

St Nikolaus answered 16,000 letters from around the globe last year, thanking every child and wishing them well.

Volunteers who empty the letterbox are able to write personal replies in German, Spanish, Russian and Polish and will be posting them to the children December 6-24. The German mail service tries to find someone to answer children's letters in most languages.

St Nikolaus is located in the western state of Saarland. The original St Nicholas lived in what is now Turkey. Dutch immigrants to the United States spread the name of the kindly saint there as "Santa Claus."

The other towns in Germany which do similar duty have names reflecting the varying beliefs among children about where their Christmas presents come from: heaven, the angels or the infant Jesus.

In one such town, Engelskirchen (church of the angels), volunteers got down to work on Monday for the 25th year. They expect 150,000 letters.

Internet: http://www.nikolauspostamt.de