A child and a man dressed as Father Christmas in front of a special Christmas post office in the German village of Himmelpfort, November 13, 2006. Berlin is facing an acute shortage of Santas four weeks from Christmas, the head of a Father Christmas placement agency said on Monday. The director of Berlin's "Heinzelmaennchen" agency that acts as an intermediary for 5,000 families that order the 20-minute visits from a real live Santa Claus each year on December 24 said he was having trouble getting enough qualified help this year. "We need at least 300 Santas to meet the demand but we only have about 100 signed up so far," said Rene Heydeck, 40. "We prefer chubby men, of course, ideally with a real beard but we're not picky and take what we get," he said. The Santas, many of whom are students, earn 28 euros (19 pounds) for each performance -- bringing in a sack of presents provided outside the door by parents and handing out the gifts. They start at about 3 p.m. and are finished by about 9 p.m. The 300 Santas visit an average of 10 to 12 families, although some have managed up to 20, Heydeck said. In return, the Santas must buy their costumes for 45 euros and have to pay the agency 15 percent of their earnings. "If they're quick, they can earn a nice sum," Heydeck said of the men, who range from a student of 20 to a 72-year-old retired professor "with a real beard" now in his 28th season. Children between 2 and 7 "still believe in Santa," he said. "In a lot of families in Berlin it's a tradition that carries on even after the children grow older and stop believing," Heydeck said. "It's hard work and sometimes you have to run faster if you fall behind schedule. But it's great fun."   點擊查看更多雙語新聞 (Reuters)

本周一，德國首都柏林一家圣誕老人職介所的負責人說，現在距離圣誕節只有四周的時間了，但目前柏林的圣誕老人嚴重緊缺。 這家中介機構在每年的12月24日這一天要為5000個家庭提供每家20分鐘的圣誕老人上門服務。中介所的負責人說，今年他正在發愁招不到那么多合格的圣誕老人。 40歲的雷內·海德克說：“我們需要至少300名圣誕老人，但到目前為止只有100人跟我們簽約。” 他說：“體型偏胖的男性更適合這一職位，如果有胡子就更好了。但我們的條件不是很苛刻，通常都是‘來者不拒’。” 這些圣誕老人大多是學生，他們每次上門服務可以賺到28歐元。他們通常從下午3點工作到晚上9點左右，主要任務就是提著孩子父母在門外提供的一袋禮物進屋發給孩子們。 海德克說，如果有300個圣誕老人，平均每人要跑10到12家，不過也有人跑過20多家。但是他們得花45歐元購買服裝，還要將所得的15%交給中介所。 海德克說：“如果他們動作快的話，可以賺到一大筆。”這些圣誕老人中年齡最小的是一名20歲的學生，年齡最大的是一位72歲的留著“真胡子”的退休教授，算上今年他已是第28次當圣誕老人了。海德克說，2歲至7歲的孩子“還是相信有圣誕老人的”。 他說：“柏林的很多家庭一直保持著請圣誕老人的傳統，即便孩子們已經長大不再相信有圣誕老人，這一活動也會延續下去。不過當圣誕老人可是個苦差事，有時誤了時間還得趕場，但確實很有意思。” （英語點津姍姍編輯）