Rovaniemi Lapland – The home of Santa Claus
My feet disappeared in the thick white snow that covered the land everywhere you could see. All of it was magical like stepping into a Christmas movie. The sweet smell of pine leaves hit me. I suddenly fell back, not from the smell, but from the large wind coming from a snowmobile parade rushing by. Those first steps into winter wonderland made all of it worth it.
After travelling for 4 and a half hours, we arrived at the Santa Claus village of Rovaniemi. It was cold, but I wasn’t focusing on the extreme temperatures because people, speaking broken English, came and greeted us. The greeting was brief, but warm hearted. The staff brought some overrals for the grown ups while the children played in the snow. This was the first time I could really feel the freezing air around me touching my skin and chilling my spine. The snow became visible to me and all the lights too. My feet disappeared in the thick white snow that covered the whole of Santa’s Village. All of it was magical like stepping into ‘Grinch’. The snow was crackling under me. I imagined Santa, with his sliegh, riding by ringing a bell. Since this was a one-day trip, after all the hustle of getting here, those first steps into winter wonderland made all of it worth it.
When the adults came back, we continued our trip and headed to snowmobile garages. We walked, however some elderly men and women took a bus.
Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, in northern Finland. Almost totally destroyed during World War II, today it’s a modern city known for being the "official" home town of Santa Claus, and for viewing the Northern Lights. It is 6 km away from the arctic circle, so it’s no surprise that some people’s favorite outdoor activity is going back inside. However, the icy weather just adds to the feel of Finland.
Walking was tiring, but we made it to the snowmobile garages. Everyone was wearing about 10 layers, which I recommend, but I was excited to ride a snowmobile for the first time. All the children and adults above 12 could ride their own snowmobiles but for children (12-16) there was an instructor sitting behind them. I had an instructor too. The snowmobiles were brought out and they explained how they worked. Even though I got a little nervous, I was ready. We sat down and started the engine. We were going slow but it was very important to stay in the lines that were already created by previous snowmobiles so you wouldn’t break a neck and skate away.
It felt like flying. Small snow chunks burst into my face and the wind blew my hair back. I felt free with a little nervous stomach ache. We rode across a frozen river and a mysterious forest. As we rode, I slipped out of the indented line, wobbled and bumped into a tree. Nothing happened, and everyone was laughing, but from then on, I let the instructor drive. The ride was approximately 3km long. It took about 6 minutes to get to our next destination to meet Santa Claus.
We booked a special meeting with Santa Claus (€1250/ family of max. 5) in the secret forest of Joulukka. It is quite childish; however, it is fun for everyone to meet the ‘official’ Joulupukki.
When the charitable St Nicholas became known in Finland during the 1800s, his image blended with the pre-existing tradition of the masked nuuttipukki to create Joulupukki. Translating to ‘Yule Goat’, Joulupukki handed out gifts instead of demanding them. Unlike Santa Claus who climbs down the chimney, Joulupukki, clad in red robes, would knock on the door and ask “Onko täällä kilttejä lapsia?” (“Are there any well-behaved children here?”). After delivering his gifts, Joulupukki would return to Korvatunturi fell; directly translating to ‘Ear fell’, Korvatunturi is the place Finns believe Joulupukki can hear everything. This all lead to Santa Claus and/or the modern Joulupukki.
Stumbling through the half dark forest, I spotted the small cottage lined with an insane amount of Christmas lights. If those got tangled and Santa would have to untangle them, he’d end up on the naughty list too. An elf came to us and explained that this was the Post Office. Here they would receive letters from children to fulfill their wishes. Everyone was above the age of 10, so no one believed that the wishes would be fulfilled (sorry if I ruined it for you), but you could literally send letters home from the office. People dressed like elves filled half the room. They were sorting letters and looking at the happy meters. We all sat down and waited to be taken each by family, to meet the old man.
Inside, little gift bags were lined up against the wall. Santa was sitting in a humungous armchair grinning around and giving us a warm welcome. The temperature in the room was 50 degrees. After being numb with cold, my body started to come back to life. Joulupukki was a broad man with bushy eyebrows and a slight tinkle in his eyes. Just like in ‘Elf’. It was a bit over exaggerated for my taste however all the younger children would love it. Sitting in his lap, I realized his white, curled beard trailing down onto the floor. It was immensely long. I wondered if he ever gets tangled in it. Well, when everyone finished telling Mr. Claus their Christmas wishes, we headed outside. Tiny reindeers were waiting to take us back to our starting point and finish this long, unique, COLD and remarkable journey.
