157207

The Origin of Santa Claus Village

Santa Claus Village is located on the Arctic Circle, 8 kilometers north of Rovaniemi (Rovaniemi), Lapland, Finland. The white line marked with 66°32’35” on the map is the Arctic Circle latitude.

Every year, a steady stream of tourists flock here from all over the world to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus. In the gift shop of Santa Claus Village, visitors can buy gifts with unique Finnish designs. You can also get a certificate for crossing the Arctic Circle. What’s more exciting is the various fairy-tale stamps, greeting cards and gifts in Santa’s post office. Those looking for Christmas legends will certainly be happy to scour for gifts to take home. All letters sent from here will also be specially stamped with the postmark of the North Pole Santa Claus Post Office.

Origin

The legend of Santa Claus comes from the distant European history. In 1882, an American poet described his image for the first time: cheeks like roses, nose like cherries, always smiling happily, with white beards on both cheeks, driving a reindeer sleigh to the village every Christmas Climb down the chimney of a residential house and give presents to the well-behaved children. Since then, the image of Santa Claus has been widely circulated and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Many children want to know where he came from. It is said in history that Finland was the first country to welcome Santa Claus to live in peace.

In 1927, Finland and the Soviet Union determined that the “Ear Mountain” in Lapland Province was the border between the two countries leading to the Arctic Ocean. The Finnish children’s story king Marcus got inspiration from it. When he told stories on the radio, he said that Santa Claus He lives on this “ear mountain” with 20,000 reindeer. It is because of his “ears” that Santa Claus can hear the voices of all the children in the world at the North Pole. His contagious romantic reasoning has been recognized by the world, and since then, the “Ear Mountain” in the story has become the hometown of Santa Claus.

The legendary hometown of Santa Claus has been debated in Western countries for many years. It was not until Christmas Eve 1995 that the then UN Secretary-General Gary sent a holiday card addressed to Santa Claus to Rovaniemi, the capital of Rabi Province in northern Finland, which stopped the debate. Because Gary’s greeting card played a role of finality – the United Nations recognized Santa Claus’s hometown as Rovaniemi.

It is said that Santa Claus in Finland is the most authentic in the world, because he lives in the Arctic Circle. In Rovaniemi, Finland, Santa Claus is more famous than the mayor. His office is covered with photos of celebrities from all over the world with him, and postcards with his head are everywhere.

In order to further strengthen the image of Finland as the hometown of Santa Claus and attract more domestic and foreign tourists. The Finnish Tourism Board and the Rabi Provincial Government have jointly formulated the “Santa Claus Hometown Plan” with long-term strategic significance. In 1985, a unique tourist attraction – Santa Claus Village was established in Rovaniemi. Subsequently, 10 tourist spots named after Santa Claus were established throughout the Rabi area, including the reindeer park and the wild animal park in the ski resort center.

More than 1 million people visit the Rabi area every year. In the Rabi area, the World Gold Panning Competition and the Golden Trout Fishing Competition are held every year in the name of Santa Claus. “Santa’s hometown tour makes northern Finland a tourist hotspot all year round. A famous logo can be seen on all tourist spots and tourist merchandise, a red boot with the toe turned up. It’s Santa Claus year The boots that are inseparable from all seasons are also the capital letter J that has been artistically processed – the second letter of the Finnish Santa Claus JOULUPUKKI.

Opening hours

Santa Claus post office opening hours: June to August and December 09:00~19:00, January to May and September to November 10:00~17:00

Santa’s office is open all year round, 09:00~19:00 in summer and Christmas season, and 10:00~17:00 in other times.

Holiday opening hours: December 24th 09:00~15:00 December 31st 09:00~17:00