SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE IN LAPLAND

The article that caught my eye on the in flight Air India magazine (on my return journey after visiting my Dad) was the article by Sanjay Auste- on Santa Claus village in Rovaniemi  Lapland.

He writes about seeing more frolicking  adults than children ...and why not ? Isn’t there a child  in us all! Hence it’s normal  to see  adults behave like excited teeny boppers in the “ Lap”of  Santa Claus land I am sure.

An exciting feature that lures tourists here is the Artic Circle that is marked on the ground .It runs across the Santa Claus village . At night the laser beam tells you exactly which side of 66degree  latitude you are . Lamp posts are erected at regular intervals to demarcate the line .A good spot indeed to photograph and mark one’s Artic tryst!

The main attraction he writes ,is the unique Santa Claus Post Office. Open all days of the year .During Christmas it hires extra hands to deal with the mail. Bag loads of mail for just one man the resident Arctic dweller Santa Claus .Letters are sorted country wise by Santa’s efficacious elves with red conical hats .

He sits in his clock house  office keeping time  perhaps signifying the surreal time- space that exists in the North Pole where there is the phenomenon of the midnight sun in summers and no sun in winters.  

The article made an interesting read as the Santa Parade was still fresh in my mind …the hosannas of Christmas carols sung there resonated in my heart !Long live Santa … long white  undulating beard ,rose-tinted rotund cheeks ,a corpulent frame , merry countenance …et all!

P.S. Worth making a trip sometime...Right Avi?…ask  Mom…