Santa Claus' Main Post Office () is a tourist destination in

Santa Claus Village Santa Claus Village () is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985. History The first building to be built in the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi was the Roosevelt Lodge, which was built in the 1950 ...

in the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, about north of

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

. It is the only official Santa Claus´ Post Office and part of the Finnish postal services. It is open all year and over 100 international media and about half a million visitors from around the world are welcomed by Christmas-dressed postal elves. Santa Claus’ Main Post Office has received over 15 million letters from 198 countries since 1985. In 2014 Santa Claus received most letters from China, Italy and Poland. In Santa Claus' Main Post Office visitors can also read letters sent to Santa. A letter writer can arrange to have a letter mailed to them from Santa before Christmas.

History

The Santa Claus' Main Post Office building is made from natural stone and pine trees. In front of the building is Elf's tower. In 1950,

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, the widow of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, made a visit to Rovaniemi. Roosevelt Cottage was built to commemorate her mailing the first letter sent from within the

with a special stamp on November 6, 1950. The cottage is still in front of the Santa Claus' Main Post Office. In December 2014,

Google Street View Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expa ...

photographed the interior of Santa Claus' Main Post Office as part of the Santa Claus Village to their Street View Special Collection.

Arctic Circle special stamp

Each letter, card and parcel mailed at Santa Claus’ Main Post Office is franked with a special postmark and stamp.{{Cite web, url = http://www.emissourian.com/features_people/feature_stories/a-visit-to-santa-s-village-in-the-arctic-circle/article_d96f2490-cc26-5856-8b9f-2d2d5aac9019.html, title = A Visit to Santa's Village in the Arctic Circle, date = 3 December 2014, accessdate = April 26, 2016, website = , publisher = The Missourian, last = , first = The logo of Santa Claus’ Main Post Office was designed by Finnish graphic designer Pekka Vuori. The logo is also a registered trademark. The postmark contains a stylized logo that was changed to its current form by graphic designer Jukka Talari in 2012. This special Arctic Circle postmark is a popular collectable and souvenir.

Notes and references

External links

Official website of Santa Claus' Main Post OfficeOfficial website of Santa Claus Village
Santa Claus Rovaniemi Amusement parks in Finland Buildings and structures in Lapland (Finland) Tourist attractions in Lapland (Finland) 1950 establishments in Finland Amusement parks opened in 1950 Post office buildings