Boží Dar: the post office of little Baby Jesus

Have you ever wondered where to send your Czech Christmas wishes to? It’s not to Santa Claus at the North Pole, but instead to little Baby Jesus (or Ježíšek) whose “official” Christmas address is the post office in Boží Dar, the highest-located town in Czechia.

Boží Dar|Photo: Václav Šlauf, MAFRA/Profimedia

The post office in Boží Dar, nestled in the Ore Mountains, not only receives Christmas wishes from children around the world but also stamps holiday greetings and packages with a special Christmas postmark. Daniela Tautermannová, head of the Boží Dar information centre, explains how the process works:

“We receive all the mail intended for stamping, unpack it all, and stamp each one with the special Christmas postmark. Then we send the letters and packages on to their addressees.”

The amount of mail that passes through this festive post office is remarkable. In its over thirty-year history, Tautermannová notes:

“The busiest year was 2016. In which we stamped a record 386 kg of postal items!”

Photo: Jana Strejčková, Czech Radio

People can also leave their letters in a special mailbox outside the information centre. It fills up quickly especially on weekends, when Boží Dar, a popular winter tourist destination known for its reliable snow, sees its biggest crowds.

The Christmas postmark itself is special not only for children but also for collectors, as it changes every year.

“This year’s design features apples with a small branch. The design was created by Lucie Šťastná,” Tautermannová describes.

Local postal worker Jitka Čermáková, who has extensive experience handling the Christmas post, explains who requests the stamp most often:

“Philatelists ask for it the most. They often specify exactly where they want the stamp placed on the envelope. Ideally, we stamp it three times around the edges.”

Photo: Česká pošta

Boží Dar’s post office is known not only within Czechia but also abroad, as it received letters from Canada, Australia, Thailand, Germany or Austria.

This year, one letter even came from Taiwan, in which a little girl wrote in Czech that it was her first time sending a message to little Baby Jesus, adding that she had been good this year because she had donated her long hair to an organization that makes wigs for people with cancer.

Boží Dar’s Christmas Post operates from December 1 to 23. Anyone interested in the special postmark can visit the information centre daily during opening hours, from 8am to 6pm.