BERLIN, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- German mail and logistics company Deutsche Post reopened its traditional Christmas post office in the village of Himmelpfort on Thursday, answering the wish lists and letters sent by children, in the name of Santa Claus.

Last year, around 277,000 letters were received in Himmelpfort alone, mostly sent by children, making it the largest of seven Christmas post offices in Germany.

According to Deutsche Post, "Santa Claus, along with 20 assistants" would answer every letter sent to him from all over the world until the last weekend before Christmas.

The company stated that anyone who included a return address on the letter would receive a "personal reply by Santa Claus" in good time before Christmas.

For many years, Deutsche Post has been supporting post offices throughout the country in answering letters from children in Santa Claus' name. "Through the support of many volunteers, childrens' dreams of Christmas are fulfilled year after year," it said.

The tradition was started in 1984 when the first letters were sent to Himmelpfort, a small village in Lower Saxony which roughly translates to gate of heaven. Since then, employees of Deutsche Post as well as volunteers have been slipping into the role of Santa Claus to answer letters during the Christmas season.