Lapland:

Where Santa Claus lives ...

Who hasn't heard of Santa Claus? Very few maybe . Children especially know of this legendary character because of his fame as the gift giver during Christmas . And this season you can have a magical moment by visiting Santa in his homeland... It's hard to imagine a bigger Christmas treat than going to meet Santa in his home in Finnish Lapland, a frozen winter wonderland of deep snow and pine forests above the Arctic Circle.

It is the popular belief that Santa and Mrs Claus live in Rovaniemi, Lapland with his hard working team of reindeer and elves, so let's check out some interesting facts about Santa's home town which has become a modern town, full of life with its own unique characteristics. In the official home town of Santa, the famous Santa Claus Village and Santa park are located just eight km north of the centre.

The city of Rovaniemi, a municipality of Finland is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated about five km south of the Arctic Circle . The city and the surrounding Rovaniemen maalaiskunta (Rural municipality of Rovaniemi) were consolidated into a single entity on January 1, 2006. The new municipality has an area of 8,016.72 square kilometres (3,095.27 sq mi) and an approximate population of 61,000. The Sami are considered to be Lapland's own indigenous population.

It is first mentioned by name in official documents in 1453, existing effectively as a set of small villages whose inhabitants earned their living mainly in agriculture and animal husbandry - with fishing and hunting the most important offshoots. There has probably been continuous settlement in the Rovaniemi area since the Stone Age. Periodic clearance of new land for agriculture and the practice of slash-and-burn cultivation began around 750-530 .Lappish culture is a mixture of influences from every direction. The cultures of the neighbouring regions of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia have greatly influenced the Sami culture and Finnishness. The cultural differences between Lapland's different regions are rather significant.

The Rovaniemi area in the arctic zone has a subarctic climate and is characterised by extreme seasonal changes between darkness and light, cold and warmth. Just like the warmth and cheer Santa spreads around the world during the magical season of Christmas .Lapland has four seasons that very distinctly differ from one another. Spring, summer, autumn, and the winter that takes up half the year.

The most common and best known animal is the reindeer, an essential part of Lappish nature and of course Santa Claus, because it is the reindeer who help Santa fly all over the world on Christmas Eve to distribute gifts to children. Although Christmas comes but once a year, in Rovaniemi you can experience Christmas throughout the year. Why? Because Rovaniemi, is the home town of Santa Claus who can be met on any day of the year at the Santa Claus Office on the Arctic Circle.