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A Story about Santa Claus in the 21st Century.
As we are all aware, the genuine Santa Claus has always lived far, far away atKorvatunturi in Finnish Lapland. There he has his secretive home and workshops aswell as the gift storehouse and many, many other buildings.
The extraordinary thing about this is that the road to Korvatunturi is only known bySanta Claus himself, his elves and of course his trusted reindeer. When looking on amap one can easily find the location of Korvatunturi (483 metres high).
Korvatunturi is a mysterious place where the elves can listen to the children aswell as the adults to hear whether they are being good or bad. The elves listencarefully to everyone's undertakings and write their observations into the hugenotebooks. Generally they record only positive observations in the books, but ifnecessary they will also note down tantrums, grumbling and spiteful behavior, whichfrom time to time can accidentally happen. Especially before Christmas, the elvesare known to move about the homes and in the neighborhoods of children making closeobservations about the children's behavior and their kindness.
Just before Christmas Santa Claus examines all the comments in the huge notebooksand carefully chooses delightful gifts for all the kind and good children. In thecase there is a note of naughtiness, Santa Claus may also arrive with hisdisapproval. Happily in the past few years there have been fewer and fewer of theseincidents because everyone has been so good.
Are you aware that in Finland, Santa's home country, he personally delivers all thegifts to the kind children? As he arrives in the home he always asks the confirmingquestion: "Ho, Ho, Ho, are there any nice children here?" The children often sing ashort song to Santa and also promise to be good the following year.
Then Santa, with the help of the children to read the labels, deals out the gifts.In many other countries Santa Claus delivers the gifts to the children's homes whilethey are asleep. In the morning the parents give the gifts to their children, atthat time Santa Claus is well on his way back to Korvatunturi.
The Santa Claus Village
A long time ago Santa decided to meet and be with people at other times of the year.Consequently, after many surveys, with the help of his good friends, he decided tobuild his own village close to the town of Rovaniemi, at the point where the highwaynorth crosses the magical Arctic Circle.
Santa Claus desired to have an international airport close to his village, wherevisitors from all corners of the globe would easily be able to come and visit him.He also wished to have a town nearby, in order that visitors would be able to stayand safely witness the northern way of life and nature with experienced guides. Allthese requirements have been fulfilled at the present location in Rovaniemi, at theArctic Circle.
Today, at the Santa Claus village, Santa has his own building with his personaloffice and reception. By the way, Santa has brought a small collection of his manybig books from Korvatunturi. The books may be admired in the shelves, but visitorscannot peek at the contents. That right is only reserved for Santa Claus and hiselves.
Santa Claus received hundreds of thousands of letters from all over the world lastyear.The letters come to Santa ClausÂ' Main Post Office. The Santa Claus Greeting Centerand the Philately Club in Rovaniemi help Santa Claus and Santa ClausÂ' Main PostOffice to open every letter. All stamps from the envelopes that Santa Claus hasreceived, are sold in special stamp auction. The profit is donated to Unicef tobenefit children in developing countries.The Magnificent Lapland Where Santa Village Situated LaplandÂ's pure and serene nature is a wonderful setting for all your pursuits. Comeand feel the tug of natureÂ's energy! People of all ages will find things to do, seeand experience in the Lapland summer.Whether you love peace and quiet, or whether you have in mind an active or culturalholiday, you can give free rein to your wishes in Lapland. Come to Lapland with yourfamily, friends or by yourself. You will always be well received and served by someof the best tourism professionals in the world.The reindeer is an inherent part of LaplandÂ's nature and is one of the NorthÂ'sfavorite animals. The 200,000 strong reindeer stock is an essential source oflivelihood for LaplandÂ's people.The golden eagle can also be spotted in Lapland. The birch groves are home to otherbirds common in Lapland  the meadow pipit, the LaplandÂ's most common predator, thefox, roams the forests. Wolves and arctic foxes are rare. You can also come acrossbears in the forests of eastern Lapland or on the lower slopes of the fells. Themost common bird of prey is the rough-legged buzzard. wheatear and the willowwarbler. Other northern birds include the snow bunting, the willow grouse and the Siberianjay. Birds found typically in the heaths of Lapland are the golden plover; by therapids, the water ouzel; and in the peatlands, the sandpiper, the ruff, the craneand the bean goose.The different parts of Lapland are clearly distinct. The south and the west aremaritime, they have rivers and rich flora. Central and eastern Lapland are known fortheir tree-covered fells. Northern Lapland is more barren, and only stunteddeciduous trees and bushes grow above the tree limit. The domes of the fells arebare and easy to cross. Pine, usually accompanied by lichen, dominates LaplandÂ'sforests. Nature, forests, waterways and the landscape have had a profound effect onthe lives of LaplandÂ's inhabitants. The shamans, who are also known to have dwelledin Lapland, based their beliefs on natural phenomena and the course of life andnature.
Christmas in Finland
Christmas is celebrated from 24th to 26th of December in Finland. Many Finnishpeople start to prepare Christmas already on November making Christmas decorationsfor their homes and for the Christmas tree. Also they bake gingerbread cookies andprune tarts. At the beginning of December already Christmas lights appear in thestores. Children count days to Christmas in December. Most of them have their ownChristmas calendar with some great pictures of the Christmas theme or even somechocolate caramel.
The Christmas tree is picked up from one's own forest or bought from a tree sellerfor Christmas Eve. The Christmas tree is decorated together with the family membersand the candles are lit. In Finland the Proclamation of Christmas Peace is declaredon Christmas Eve at noon and after that people quieten down for Christmas in theirhomes.
Santa Claus comes on Christmas Eve to the houses where there are little children. Hewears a red coat, vest and linen shirt and warm boots. When he comes, he alwaysasks:
"Are there any well-behaved children in this house?"
If you have been good during the whole year then Santa Claus brings some gifts.Every Finnish child knows that Santa Claus can also bring some brushwood if theyhave not been good. According to tradition Santa Claus has never needed to bring anybrushwood to anyone.
Singing Christmas carols, visiting the church and the cemetery and enjoyingChristmas food and also Christmas Eve's sauna belong to Christmas. The adults oftenremember their own childhood Christmas.
Christmas Eve starts with a tasty rice porridge breakfast. Christmas gospel is readin many families. Later in the day families enjoy delicious Christmas dinner: ham orsometimes turkey with homemade mustard, fish, swede casserole, carrot casserole andpotato casserole with a traditional cold Finnish salad.
Christmas day is spent with family but the next day, Boxing Day, it is customary tovisit relatives and friends.
After Christmas, people start to look forward to New Year's Eve. The Christmas treeis taken down on the Twelfth Day to mark the ending of Christmastide.
A Christmas Letter to Your Loved Ones. .. from Far Away in the Arctic Circle
Still remember how exciting it was to wait for Christmas when you were a child ? Itmight have been quite a few years ago, but the same feelings still arise whenChristmas season starts.
There are many ways to manifest to our loved ones during this special season. One ofthe personal ways is to send a warm message to friends, relatives and others inconjunction with the season. A very special way of doing this is of course to askSanta Claus to convey the message on your behalf !
www.MerryXmas.org allows you to do exactly that special way ! MerryXmas.org is theofficial website of Christmas Express in association with Santa Claus GreetingCenter, Finland. The unique website allows you to request for an original SantaClaus Letter to be sent to your loved ones direct from Santa Village and the Lettercan be written in 13 different language options. Of course Santa would tell therecipient that you are the special person who request for the letter.
The 13 Languages :
The original Santa Claus Letter from far away in the Arctic Circle is a nice way toremember your friends and relatives during Christmas. With the letter, you aresending the traditional warm Christmas feeling and the spirit of Christmas to yourloved ones anywhere in the world. The personal Letter can also be a unique way toremember your staff whom you meet and work with everyday in the office or yourbusiness associates and clients. To the recipients of the Letter just beforeChristmas Day, it is certainly a sweet surprise to be remembered for the longesttime.
You request for the Santa Claus Letter online via www.merryxmas.org. For moreinformation please contact info@merryxmas.org. Last order date : 7th December 2006to ensure delivery before Christmas Day.
