Santa Claus Village
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 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2017) |
 Santa Claus' office | |
| Location | Rovaniemi, Finland |
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| Opened | 1985 |
Santa Claus Village is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985.[1]
Location and transportation
Santa Claus Village is located about 8 km northeast of Rovaniemi and about 2 km from the Rovaniemi Airport.
Rovaniemi city bus route 8 travels between the Rovaniemi Railway Station and the Santa Claus Village. The bus trip takes about 30 minutes. The first original home of Santa Clause was Korvatunturi, which remained mysterious. In 1985, Rovaniemi was declared as an official hometown of Santa Claus. During World War Two Rovaniemi was completely destroyed, after then it was reconstructed again.[2]
Attractions
- Arctic Circle: The Arctic Circle 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 very popular photo spot for visitors.
- Santa Claus' Main Post Office: A large variety of Christmas related items, Christmas cards and CDs are sold in the post office. All mail sent from this post office is postmarked with a special Santa Claus postmark. Visitors can also specify their mail to be sent at the next Christmas, regardless of when they actually visit the post office and send their items. Rovaniemi is the official hometown of Santa Clause, it attracts more than 300,000 visitors annually.[2]
- 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, there is an "office hour" for Santa Claus and he may not be in the office all the time even when the Village is open.
- Other attractions: There are also many shops and restaurants inside the park selling a variety of items related to Santa Claus and the Lapland region. (see Details of attractions in Santa Claus Village)
- "Northern Lights": it is also known as "Aurora Borealis". The Northern Lights are observed on around 150 nights in a year from mid-August till early April. The Arctic Garden and the top of Ounasvaara fell are the best destinations to witness Northern Lights. According to science, it 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 emission of colorful light, visible at night. Green is the most common color in this process, while red, pink, violet, yellow, and even blue may be observable too. [3]
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. So long in 2008, it still holds second position after Topworld invited travelers to vote for their own Top 10 list over adventures.
Notes and references
- ^ "Santa Claus' Village". Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Santa Claus and the magic of Christmas in Rovaniemi - Visit Rovaniemi". Visit Rovaniemi. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
- ^ "Experience the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, in Rovaniemi - Visit Rovaniemi". Visit Rovaniemi. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
External links
