Santa Claus Village ( fi, Joulupukin Pajakylä) is an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Pe ...

in the Lapland region of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

. It was opened in 1985.

Location and transportation

Santa Claus Village is located about northeast of Rovaniemi and about from the Rovaniemi Airport. The first original home of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...

was Korvatunturi. In 1985, Rovaniemi was declared as an official hometown of Santa Claus.

Attractions

* Arctic Circle: The

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at ...

ostensibly cuts right through Santa Claus Village. A white line denoting the Arctic Circle (at its position in 1865) is painted across the park. Visitors officially enter the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

area when they cross the line. The line is a trendy photo spot for visitors. The Arctic Circle is actually 700 meters to the north, just south of the Rovaniemi airport.) * Santa's House of Snowmobiles: A museum about the history and evolution of snowmobiles in the Arctic areas. * Santa Claus's Office: A Santa Claus's Office is located inside the main building of the Village, for visitors to take photographs and chat with Santa Claus. However, Santa Claus has an "office hour" and he may not be in the office all the time even when the Village is open. * Northern Lights: also known as

Aurora Borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. The Northern Lights are observed on around 150 nights in a year from mid-August until early April. The Arctic Garden and the top of Ounasvaara fell are the best destinations to witness Northern Lights. The phenomena is caused by electrically charged particles from the sun colliding with air molecules in Earth's atmosphere and deflected by Earth's magnetic field. This process results in the emission of colourful light, visible at night. Green is the most common colour in this process, while red, pink, violet, yellow, and even blue may be observable too.

Awards

The Santa Claus Park that is connected to the Santa Claus Village was in 2007 awarded by Topworld International and placed as the second best Travel Adventure in Finland. Since 2008, it still holds second position after Topworld invited travellers to vote for their own Top 10 list over adventures.

References

External links

* {{Finnish amusement parks Santa Claus Rovaniemi Amusement parks in Finland Buildings and structures in Lapland (Finland) Tourist attractions in Lapland (Finland) Christmas in Finland 1985 establishments in Finland Amusement parks opened in 1985