Already at the beginning of autumn, we all start thinking about winter joys, Advent and Christmas. Our editorial team has decided to plan a trip to Finland for you Santa's village. As soon as we started researching, we found ourselves in a real fairy tale. Every link and every picture and video took us back to our childhood. This is the path we will definitely take this winter and we highly recommend you to explore this fairy tale that still lives today on the very The Arctic. For starters, to open the doors of your imagination, watch the video...
Let's take turns the village of Santa Claus is called Rovaniemi and is located in the north of Finland, the Finns call this area the "Door of Lapland", and it is only two thousand kilometers from the North Pole.
The legend of Santa Claus it is one of the few that has survived for centuries, in all parts of the world. Generations have grown up on it, and the popularity of the white-bearded grandfather from the far north, who gives toys to all the children of the world for the holidays, is not waning even today. Stay in Rovaniemi proves how alive and real this legend is.
From the end to the beginning of the world
Santa chose it for his home Rovaniemi, surrounded by mystical dense forests, due to dwarves helping him pack presents. Grandpa says that dwarves don't like heat, and neither do reindeer, which is why he moved to Rovaniemi.
This glittering village, at the entrance of which stands a ten-meter-high golden pine of Santa Claus, surpasses even the most vivid imagination. In it the white-bearded grandfather lives with Grandma Christmas, but during the holidays he usually works in his office, located in a cave twelve meters below the earth's surface.
His favorite means of transportation are reindeer, of which two hundred thousand live in Lapland. They and the blue-eyed huskies diligently pull the sleigh through the fairy-tale forests. Visitors can pass the driving test for a reindeer sled and get a license that is valid for five years. Grandfather also advises visitors to cross the line of the arctic circle Finnish napapiiri, and when you do you will receive a certificate that is proof that you have moved from the end of the world to its beginning.
When a fairy tale becomes reality
It is unavoidable to visit the traditional ones here Lappish tents made so that it is warm in them and when it is thirty degrees below zero outside, it is precisely this temperature that is common in January and February. A special attraction is to go on a safari through the Arctic forests with blue-eyed huskies, and to taste Lappish specialties or sleep in an igloo with an unavoidable visit. reindeer farms.
Today he visits Lapland every year, mostly because of the village of Santa Claus 500.000 tourists from all over the world. The first tourist visitor to Rovaniemi was Eleanor Roosevelt, the widow of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As they claim in Finland, she traveled to the village of Santa Claus in the winter of 1950, wanting to see where the Arctic Circle begins. As a result, the hosts had to mark the border and build a wooden hut on it where the distinguished guest could relax with hot tea. Legend has it that Santa Claus liked the cabin and he moved into it. About twenty years later, around the house, the famous Finnish association of architects Arrak Group designed the entire village of Santa Claus, and thus the fairy tale became a reality.
Try to imagine that atmosphere that today attracts both children and adults, both young and old to that little lit village where bells ring, reindeer and huskies walk casually. Imagine Santa personally receiving the wishes that guests have to carefully whisper in his ear. It happens that even adults try to sit on his lap - although only children are allowed to do so. Merry Santa, legend says, brings happiness to everyone who believes in him. That's why a stay in his village is an ideal holiday gift for anyone who, deep down, still believes in blessings and miracles.
And if you didn't know by now the right address on which you can write to Santa, please write it down:
Santa Claus Main Post Office,
Tähtikuja 1, 9
6930 Rovaniemi, Finland
Aurora games
Another attraction that you can experience here is the famous Aurora borealis. Namely, since it is located at the very edge of the Arctic Circle, the atmosphere here is naturally mystical. Within the circle in the northern hemisphere of the globe, the sun does not rise for at least one day in winter, and does not set for at least one day in summer. Polar night it lasts there for almost a month, from mid-December to early January, until in summer the sun sets from mid-June to early July, and this phenomenon is called 'midnight sun'.
Due to its position close to the North Pole, a phenomenon is also happening aurora borealis Aurora Borealis. During it, a network of green, blue, crimson, red and violet light beams vibrates in the night sky. You can enjoy the aurora two hundred days a year, but August, September and October are the best months to observe this phenomenon.
Find all the practical information you need to know when embarking on this fairytale adventure at link. Ryanair introduced this year direct line to Rovaniemi from Milan, which is currently the best option from Croatia to visit Santa's village.
From Croatia you can get to Djedica by plane Helsinki. You will find the cheapest direct flight tickets to the Finnish metropolis from Belgrade, Ljubljana or Budapest.
Source: nordicpoint.net
Photos: Kimmo Syväri / source: Visit Finland
