Santa's mailbox, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

December 1969 Issue

Santa's mailbox, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

The world's largest mailbox, dedicated to mail addressed to Julenissen (Santa Claus) and seen in our October 2016 mystery photo, appeared in the town of Longyearbyen on the island of Svalbard, Norway, a few days before Christmas 2013. Local tour operator Po Lin Lee said she had the red, 9.3-meter-high box installed to “inspire people to share their inner thoughts and hopes.”

About 10,000 letters were deposited in the box during the year before Christmas 2015 (including some tourists' actual mail, which, with an irregular pickup schedule, took months to be delivered). Unfortunately, due to permit issues, Santa's mailbox was slated for removal by the end of September 2016. Lee hopes to find a solution, which would include posting a sign in several languages stating that it is not an official mailbox.

Thirty-six correct answers were submitted, and JEAN MYERS of Scottsdale, Arizona, won the drawing. We thank Frank Love of Albuquerque, New Mexico, for submitting the photo.

Correct answers were submitted by:

Deepak Awasthi, Destrehan, LA; Shirley Becker, Skokie, IL; Lucyna Boyle, Mesa, AZ; Flora Breidenbach, Elmwood Park, IL; Patricia Bunyard, Cambria, CA; Mary Carlson, Mission Viejo, CA; William M. Easson, New Orleans, LA; Ramon Ferrer, La Roca del Vallès, Spain; David Flack, Honolulu, HI; Robert Gay, Vero Beach, FL; Stanley Gorcik, Buffalo Grove, IL; Signe Haugen, San Carlos, CA; Jane & Clyde Holt, Hinesburg, VT; Per A. Hovland, Råde, Norway; Thomas Jedele, Tucson, AZ; Stephen Jeffries, Centennial, CO; George C. Kingston, East Longmeadow, MA; Carrie Kwok, St. Paul, MN; Mary Lao, San Francisco, CA; Theodore Liebersfeld, Boynton Beach, FL; Ann Marzano, Wayne, IL; Edith F. Moates, Norman, OK; WINNER: Jean Myers, Scottsdale, AZ; Sari Oosta, Owens Cross Roads, AL; Donna Peterson, Patch Grove, WI; Aase Popper, Walnut Creek, CA; Raymond Prince, Maple Valley, WA; Lupe Reynolds, Newark, DE; Gail Riba, Wimauma, FL; Marcia Ritter, St. Louis, MO; Jo Ellen Ryan, Davis, CA; Harvey Segal, Wayland, MA; Barbara Van Houten, Ocala, FL; Eileen Walter, Tucson, AZ; Mary Linda Wardlaw, Memphis, TN; Victor Wyman, Santa Clara, CA.