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[title]What if I told you Santa is real? There’s an actual village with an elf-run post office, reindeer in neat little pens, and the white-bearded man we all know and love. It sits on the outskirts of the Christmas capital of the world: Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland.
I’ve spent the past few winters visiting different regions in Lapland, but nothing quite compares to Rovaniemi's electric nostalgia. It’s a Peter Pan-esque bubble. Six-year-old me has stirred somewhere deep within, and she is triumphant, giggling at the foolishness of non-believers. Idiots.
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The origins of Santa Claus Village
Rovaniemi’s festive tourism origins date back to post-WW2 reinvestments in the city. After almost complete destruction, it was rebuilt with UN aid, and in 1950, America’s First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, announced a visit to admire its restored glory. With just two weeks’ notice, officials constructed a wooden cabin to surprise Roosevelt with an immersion into Arctic Circle life, and it went down a treat. From the 1980s onwards, Santa Claus Village grew around this original construction, and in 2010, the city copyrighted its title as the ‘Official Home of Santa Claus.’
The branding worked. Every winter, hundreds of thousands of festive tourists flock here, eager to experience the world’s Christmas capital.
‘Tourism is growing by 10 percent each year,’ Sanna Kärkkäinen, CEO of Visit Rovaniemi, explains. ‘We stopped marketing the Christmas season five years ago.’ Of the region’s attractions, Santa Claus Village is the primary magnet, catering to half a million annual tourists. And while Santa Claus Village is open year-round, understandably, people come here for Christmas: the busiest day for travel to Rovaniemi is December 23.
‘Winter preparations are a constant background thought, even in the summer’
The demand is so high that staff don’t stop – festive responsibilities run like clockwork every month. Even the weather is no barrier. While some areas of Lapland are seeing an alarming lack of snow this year, Rovaniemi savvily stores snow from previous seasons, despite summer temperatures occasionally reaching 30C. Winter preparations are a constant background thought. ‘Christmas never sleeps,’ Sanna laughs.
What’s in Santa Claus Village?
So, just before its Christmas peak, I visited Santa Claus Village in early December. It’s a simple 20-minute bus ride from Rovaniemi city centre, and bursting out the sliding doors, passengers immediately dispersed in all directions.
I passed the (signposted) Roosevelt’s Cottage and headed straight for the reindeer – Santa would be a doomed mission today, with an hours-long queue. Besides, it felt a bit mean to nab a child’s spot as a solo adult. Instead, I peered through fences at real-life Cupid and Rudolphs.
The village is free to enter, with optional paid activities inside, and my next bucket list activity was a horseback ride on a Finnhorse. These colossal draught horses were traditionally used for logging and perfectly epitomise the winter wonderland aesthetic with their large frames and hairy features.
I passed restaurants, gift shops, and huskies – watching a few sleds zip through a forest with gleefully screaming tourists in tow – to Aurora Horses. The operator only joined the village last season, but already the staff are part of the well-oiled festive machine. In seconds, a huge gelding was tacked up for a quick hack through the snow, just in time for sunset.
Another unmissable attraction is the Post Office, which along with Santa’s Hut is the hive of the village. Inside, red sorting cupboards are stashed with mail and there are piles of postcards from visitors ready to send to scribbled addresses. But, of course, inbound mail takes the lion’s share of letters here. ‘About 500,000 letters from about 200 countries arrive to Santa Claus’ Main Post Office every year,’ one sign reads. ‘The elves have opened and read about 20,000,000 wishes.’
Head Postal Elf Katja Tervonen has held the position for 13 years and adores her role. ‘I am very proud of showing the visitors the beauty of Rovaniemi and the loving, caring nature of the people who live here,’ she says.
It's not a role without sacrifice, though. ‘Every year I post my own Christmas wishes and cards always either at the very last minute or too late,’ Tervonen jokes, ‘So, my friends and relatives may expect to receive their Season’s Greeting in January, again!’
Does the Christmas chaos lead to Rovaniemi residents feeling a bit burnt out? Possibly. The metamorphic growth is leaving some business owners understandably overwhelmed amidst increasing competitors. While many declined to formally elaborate on their less-than-perfect experiences, it’s easily understood. Who wouldn’t feel overstretched facing a constant churn of festive tourists expecting the most magical time of their lives?
‘Who wouldn’t feel burnt out facing a constant churn of festive tourists?’
Restaurants were rushed off their feet, and accommodation fully booked. The Hotel Aakenus receptionist apologetically smiled, informing me check-in had to be on the dot, as every single room was taken. The standards don’t drop – everything remains magical, but a scratch below the surface does reveal growing pains.
‘We are still in a growth phase; this is all new for people in Rovaniemi,’ says Pia Tuukkanen, who runs reindeer encounters just 30 minutes outside Rovaniemi. She says running tours from her peaceful countryside location offers an escape from the Christmas crowds.
Boarding my departing bus, heading onwards to lakeside Inari, I felt a renewed respect for those who keep the festive spirit alive. Living in the Christmas capital of the world is no mean feat. Something tells me there’ll be lots of lists checked twice.
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