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Santa Claus Message...Santa Claus wants to tell every child and adult of the world that Remember to be nice! |
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The niceness means three different things. Santa Claus hopes that you will be kind and considerate in the future. He wants you to continue your good hobbies, too. You see, the new millennium brings wonderful opportunities to those who work hard, develop themselves and believe in their dreams. |
Keep checking in... you just might get to see Santa hard at work.
| Santa was nice enough to allow us to put a
camera in his office. |
HOURS OF SANTA CLAUS ( The timetable is in The Official Santa Claus Time
Zone which is GMT + 02:00 ) |
Santa also put a
camera outside
so you can see all the snow at Santa Village up at the North Pole. |
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Click for LIVE OFFICE CAM |
Click for LIVE OUTSIDE CAM |
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| Whenever children - or adults, for that matter - have a chance to meet Santa Claus, their heads are packed with hundreds of questions that they have always wanted to ask. But the excitement of the actual moment usually shakes them up, leaving them with only one question: ”What was it I wanted to ask?” And so the hundred questions go unanswered. | ||
| Mrs. Santa Claus understands that situation all too well. She also knows how frustrating it can be if you really want to know something and there is no one around who can give you an answer. So, one bright evening as the fire was crackling in the fireplace and the Northern Lights were flashing in the sky, she sat in her squeaky rocking chair and began to recall everything that children around the world have wanted to know about Santa Claus, and a few things about herself as well. |
1. How old is Santa Claus?
That's something not even Santa Claus can remember exactly. Once when he was
sitting in his favourite rocking chair in front of the fireplace at his home in
Korvatunturi, he began to count how many Christmases he could remember. But when
he got some place around 364, he fell asleep.
2. How many elves are there?
That's something no one knows exactly. Elves are such fast little beings, and
they are rarely ever all in the same place at the same time. But when the sun
sets in Korvatunturi, there are probably as many little elf toes under the
blankets as there are stars in the sky, if not more.
3. Does Santa Claus have a family?
Of course! All the people in the whole world are his family. Adults and children
are equally precious to him.
4. Are elves Santa Claus' children?
Santa Claus believes that everyone should be everyone else's child, and that
being a child is the most important thing in the world.
5. Are new elves still being born?
New Christmas elves and other kinds of elves are born frequently. When the last
rays of the evening sun meet with the Northern Lights, the wind is from the
North and the stars are shining, that's when elves are born.
6. Is it possible to become an elf?
Of course. And it's possible to stay an elf. Taking care of smaller and weaker
ones is elf work. Making someone happy who doesn't have anything to be happy
about, or giving toys or clothes to children that need them - that' s the best
way to be an elf.
7. Does Santa Claus have lots of reindeer?
Yes. He doesn't have quite as many as there are stars in the sky or snowflakes
in a winter snow cloud, but he does have more reindeer than all the mountain
creeks in the fall put together. Reindeer herders are his good friends, and the
reindeer are taken care of cooperatively.
8. How does Santa Claus travel?
He gets around a lot of ways. Of course, he has a sleigh drawn by team of
reindeer, but he also has a team of dogs, a car, an airplane, a snowmobile, and
a helicopter. Santa Claus uses whatever means of transportation is best suited
to the weather conditions and the purpose of his traveling.
9. Does Santa Claus hunt and fish?
Santa Claus never hunts. Sometimes he goes ice-fishing, but he never catches
anything.
10. What is Santa Claus favorite food?
It has to be the rice porridge I make. It has a special, secret recipe that I
can't tell you. The secret ingredient is the "Where-did-I-put-it" spice.
11. Is that Santa Claus' own beard?
Yes indeed. It's his very own. It would be too expensive to rent one all the
time. His curly-toed boots are his own, too. And so is his red shirt and vest
and linen shirts and colorful woolen sweaters. Everything Santa Claus wears is
his own. Once the elves tried to borrow his shirt, but it took four elves just
to get the shirt moving.
12. Are all the gifts made at Korvatunturi?
Not all of them. Some are made at home, and they are especially precious. You've
surely heard of homemade jelly or mustard or hand knit wool socks. In some places
there are little workshops that also help Santa Claus by making gifts.
13. Do you always eat rice porridge at Korvatunturi?
Not always. In the morning, of course, we have breakfast porridge and at
lunchtime we have lunch porridge and dessert porridge and in the evening we have
evening porridge. But we don't always have it. For instance, at night we don't
eat porridge, except for the night-owl elf and the reindeer herder elf. For them
there has to be a kettle on the stove all night in case they get hungry. They
only eat a cupful at a time, and they put touch of butter on top of it.
14.How many animals are there at Korvatunturi?
There are more animals at Korvatunturi than there are cloudberry leaves in the
nearest marsh. It depends, of course, what animals you count and at what time of
the year. If you count mosquitoes in the summer then there are really, really
lots of animals.
15. Can people go to Korvatunturi?
Of course you can get there, if you know how. But it's a difficult route and a
long journey. And it's difficult to give directions. Everyone gives different
directions. But you have to turn left after the little spruce tree, or if you're
coming from the West along the narrow path, then you should turn right, that is,
if you have passed Spruce Pond already. The easiest way to get there is to ask
the people from the Land of Korvatunturi to take you there. Then you won't get
lost.
16. Is it possible to visit Korvatunturi?
Santa Claus, I and the elves need peace and quiet. We would never get the
presents made if there was always company coming. And besides, all the Christmas
secrets would be exposed.
17. How does Santa Claus have time to deliver all the presents?
Santa Claus takes advantage of the differences between time zones. When children
in Finland are awake, the children in Japan are sleeping and vice-versa. There
is also some magic involved. Sometimes Santa Claus may leave the presents for
elves to deliver. The most important thing is that the gifts get there on time.
18. Has Santa Claus ever gotten stuck in a chimney?
If that happened, his gift delivery route would get cut short. Santa Claus has a
big book entitled, "Chimneys of the World", and in that book you can find
information on the construction of all the world's chimneys. It 's important to
know how to get into them, and that is Santa Claus' specialty.
19. Does Santa Claus understand animal language?
Yes, he does.
20. Does Santa Claus have to be good?
Santa Claus is always good. Sometimes he has to be strict, but he is always
fair.
21. Is it possible to get presents, even if you haven't been good?
Santa Claus is certain that all children are good down deep. If a child is
hungry or tired, it's only natural that crabbiness can sneak in unaware. Voicing
disappointment or bad feelings has nothing to do with being good.
22. Is Santa Claus ever in a bad mood?
Sometimes Santa Claus is a little angry, sad and upset. Sometimes he is really
upset if he hears about places in the world where they don't care for the
well-being of children.
23. What does Santa Claus do when he's not delivering presents?
Santa Claus relaxes by walking in the forest and listening to the voices of the
wilderness. He also spends time preparing the next Christmas delivery by reading
children's letters. His favorite pastime is reading books.
24. What does Santa Claus think about the way people celebrate Christmas in
different cultures?
Every culture has its own customs that should be respected, and Father Christmas
does just that.
25. Does Santa Claus know every Christmas carol?
Oh, yes. Often when he walks outdoors you can hear him singing them. Every now
and then he composes new ones, too.
26. Does Santa Claus have swimming trunks?
Indeed he does, and he uses them regularly. Santa Claus swims in the summer, and
in the winter he likes to jump in the lake through a whole in the ice, but it
has to be chopped plenty big enough.
27. Does Santa Claus get any presents himself?
Oh, yes. He gets them often. The best gifts, in Santa Claus' opinion, are the
happy smiles of children and the joyful looks in their eyes.
28. How can Santa Claus hear everything clear up in Korvatunturi?
Elves help him listen, and on a quiet summer night even a whisper carries all
the way to Korvatunturi easily.
29. Does Santa Claus read all the letters he gets?
The elves help him read the letters and make inventories, and that is a
complicated system in itself. Santa Claus gets a lot of Christmas cards, too.
HISTORY OF SANTA CLAUS
When searching for the historical roots of Santa Claus, one must go very deep
into the past. One discovers that Santa Claus as we know him is a combination of
many different legends and mythical creatures.
The basis for the Christian-era Santa Claus is Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna (Izmir),
(in) what is now in Turkey. Nicholas lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very
rich, generous, and loving toward children. Often he gave joy to poor children
by throwing gifts in through their windows.
The Orthodox Church later raised St. Nicholas, miracle worker, to a position of
great esteem. It was in his honor that Russia's oldest church, for example, was
built. For its part, the Roman Catholic Church honored Nicholas as one who
helped children and the poor. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of children
and seafarers. His name day is December 6th.
In the Protestant areas of central and northern Germany, St. Nicholas later
became known as der Weinachtsmann. In England he became called as Father
Christmas. St. Nicholas made his way to the United States with Dutch immigrants,
and began to be referred to as Santa Claus.
In North American poetry and illustrations, Santa Claus, in his white beard, red
jacket and pompom-topped cap, would sally forth on the night before Christmas in
his sleigh, pulled by eight reindeer, and climb down chimneys to leave his gifts
in stockings set out by children on the fireplace mantelpiece.
Children naturally wanted to know where Santa Claus actually came from. Where
did he live when he wasn't delivering presents? From these questions began a
legend that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, where his Christmas-gift
workshop is also located.
In 1925, since grazing reindeer would not be possible at the North Pole,
newspapers revealed that Santa Claus in fact lives in Lapland in Finland. "Uncle
Markus", Markus Rautio, who compared the popular "Children's hour" on Finnish
public radio, revealed the great secret for the first time in 1927: Santa Claus
lives on Lapland's Korvatunturi - "Ear Fell"
The fell, which is situated directly on Finland's eastern frontier, somewhat
resembles a hare's ears - which are in fact Santa Claus's ears, with which he
listens to find out if the children of the world are being nice. Santa has the
assistance of a busy group of elves, who have quite their own history in
Scandinanvian legend.
Over the centuries, customs from different parts of the Northern Hemisphere thus
came together and created the whole world's Santa Claus - the ageless, timeless,
immortal white-bearded man who gives out gifts on Christmas and always returns
to Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland.
Since the 1950s, Santa has happily sojourned at Napapiiri, near Rovaniemi, at
times other than Christmas, to meet children and the young at heart. By 1985 his
visits to Napapiiri had become so regular that he established his own Santa
Claus Office there. He comes there every day of the year to hear what children
want for Christmas and to talk with children who have arrived from around the
world. Santa Claus Village is also the location of Santa's main Post Office,
which receives children's letters from the four corners of the world.
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SANTA CLAUS OFFICE
Visit www.santaclauslive.com |
