Not wanting to give away his secret workshop under Korvatunturi Mountain in Savukoski, Santa chose the Arctic Circle for his official office and met the First Lady there in 1950. Eventually, the fervor reached such a pitch that the First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt came to Lapland to see Santa in person. The son of Finnish and Swedish emigrants, Haddon Sundblom, painted Santa Claus in all his cola-loving glory in magazine advertisements in the 20th century. Across the Atlantic, though, everyone knows exactly where Father Christmas lives … Finnish Lapland!įor hundreds of years, Santa was content to keep himself and his work in Lapland a secret, but children and friends of Christmas all over the world wouldn’t let him. But he’s not a polar bear, and besides … the North Pole is in the middle of an ocean! Unless Santa lives on a houseboat, he probably doesn’t live on an ocean. If you grew up in America, you probably think Santa lives at the North Pole. With all this talk of stories, legends and gods, you might beg the question: is Santa Claus real? Perhaps no one has ever answered this question better than the New York Sun in 1897, in an editorial addressed to an 8-year-old girl named Virginia.
Many of the modern ideas about Santa Claus came from the famous poem, “’ Twas the Night Before Christmas.” Once this poem was published anonymously in a New York newspaper, every child in America (and soon much of the world) knew that Santa visited on Christmas Eve, on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer, magicked himself up and down chimneys, and carried a sack full of all the gifts for all the children in the world. For hundreds of years, these stories and more have been told to children in European and western countries when the days grow short and snowflakes fall like fairy dust over the land. Ironic, considering the legend of Santa is a distillation of hundreds of stories, including historical figures like Saint Nicholas, myths like Father Christmas, Viejo Pascuero, Sinterklaas, Weihnachtsmann, Joulupukki, Pere Noel, and even Norse gods like Odin. Of course, we all know who Santa is, but through repeated tellings and alterations (and cola advertisements), the true story of Father Christmas can get a bit watered down. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Big guy, long white beard, has an affinity for the color red? Here you’ll find lots of information on the history of Santa Claus, how the modern version came about, Finnish Christmas traditions, where Santa lays his hat, how you can meet him, his favorite reindeer, how you can send the Big Guy a letter and more! Who who who is Santa Claus? Looking for the latest scoop on Santa, his history, home & how you can meet the Big Guy yourself? Here’s all the information you need to know about Big Red & his place in Lapland.