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Santa Claus Village

Santa Claus' office
Location	Rovaniemi, Finland
Coordinates	66°32′36″N 25°50′51″E / 66.54333°N 25.84750°E / 66.54333; 25.84750
Status	Operating
Opened	18 November 1985
Owner	Dianordia Oy
Website	https://santaclausvillage.info/

Santa Claus Village (Finnish: Joulupukin Pajakylä) is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985.

History

The first building to be built in the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi was the Roosevelt Lodge, which was built in the 1950s for a visit by Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of the at that time US-President, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The first original home of Santa Claus was Korvatunturi, built as the "Finnish equivelant of Disneyland". In 1985, Rovaniemi was declared as an official hometown of Santa Claus.

There was an association called Joulumaa, founded 1989 in Rovaniemi, consisting of 34 companies. The association was closed in 1992 due to financial difficulties as Joulumaa could no longer afford to continue the letter service, answering letters received by Santa Claus.

Location and transportation

Santa Claus Village is located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) northeast of Rovaniemi and about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Rovaniemi Airport.

Attractions

• Arctic Circle: The Arctic Circle ostensibly cuts right through Santa Claus Village. A white line denoting the Arctic Circle (at its position in 1865) is painted across the park. Visitors officially enter the Arctic area when they cross the line. The line is a trendy photo spot for visitors. The Arctic Circle is actually 700 meters to the north, just south of the Rovaniemi airport.)
• Santa's House of Snowmobiles: A museum about the history and evolution of snowmobiles in the Arctic areas.
• Santa Claus's Office: A Santa Claus's Office is located inside the main building of the Village, for visitors to take photographs and chat with Santa Claus. However, Santa Claus has an "office hour" and he may not be in the office all the time even when the Village is open.
• Santa Claus' Main Post Office: A post office where visitors can read letters sent to Santa. Writers can also request a letter be mailed to them from Santa before Christmas. The office is an official Finnish post office.
• Northern Lights: also known as Aurora Borealis. The Northern Lights are observed on around 150 nights in a year from mid-August until early April. The Arctic Garden and the top of Ounasvaara fell are the best destinations to witness Northern Lights. The phenomenon is caused by electrically charged particles from the Sun colliding with air molecules in Earth's atmosphere and deflected by Earth's magnetic field. This process results in the emission of colourful light, visible at night. Green is the most common colour in this process, while red, pink, violet, yellow, and even blue may be observable too.

Awards

The Santa Claus Park that is connected to the Santa Claus Village was in 2007 awarded by Topworld International and placed as the second best Travel Adventure in Finland. Since 2008, it still holds second position after Topworld invited travellers to vote for their own Top 10 list over adventures.

Gallery

• Santa Claus Village back in 1990s
• Shop at Santa Claus' Village
• Interiors of the Santa's Gift House at Santa Claus' Village
• A reindeer in a carriage
• The main post office

References

1. "Santa Claus' Village" (in Swedish). Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
2. "Santa Claus and the magic of Christmas in Rovaniemi - Visit Rovaniemi". Visit Rovaniemi. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
3. Shah, Shikha. "Revealed: Santa Claus' s 'official hometown' is Lapland capital Rovaniemi". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
4. Helsingin Sanomat. 8 April 1998. Homeland: "The Christmas Village Association's faith in Santa Claus is unwavering – There is a lot of debt and employees have been laid off." Retrivied 25 December 2024. (in Finnish)
5. Blackhurst, Rob (5 December 2013). "Who answers all the letters sent to Father Christmas?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
6. "Experience the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, in Rovaniemi - Visit Rovaniemi". Visit Rovaniemi. Retrieved 28 December 2017.

External links

• Official website

• Operating amusement parks
• Amusement parks based on Santa Claus
• Rovaniemi
• Amusement parks in Finland
• Buildings and structures in Lapland (Finland)
• Tourist attractions in Lapland (Finland)
• Christmas in Finland
• 1985 establishments in Finland
• Amusement parks opened in 1985