26
JOURNEYS magazine
Volume I, 2016
in red who sits daily in a theme-park
complex just outside of town.
Outside Santa’s o¬ce, where
elves answer an astounding 32,000
letters a day from children the world
over, we came across seven-year-
old Leanne, visiting here from her
home in Bath, England, with parents
Paul and Loraine. Leanne was sliding
over and over down an ice-covered
snow bank, just a few yards from
the log building where Santa was
interviewing his little visitors in a
multiplicity of languages.
“Coming here was a last-minute
decision,” said Paul. “We thought,
we’ll do it, because the little girl is
seven and we thought we’d do it
now since she’s not going to be so
interested in it in a few years. It’s
been pretty magical!”
In addition to the Santa Claus
attraction, outdoor snow sports
approached this city of 35,000,
rebuilt from the ruins of World War
II, the trimmings of Christmas began
to appear in strings of white lights,
of red and green trim, of real snow
thickly draped on evergreens, and
beautifully lit sculptures made of
blue ice.
And in the city, to what to our
wondering eyes should appear but...
two dozen hotels, a railroad station,
bus terminal, taxis and rental cars,
a bustling main street with an
underground mall, health center,
police station, post o¬ce, library,
town hall, a hospital, churches,
museums, and a university attended
by 3,000 students.
There is also a factory that
makes snowmobiles, but by far the
biggest engine that powers the
economy in this frosty land of
Northern Lights is the jolly, fat man
HOLIDAY TRAVEL
e wanted to know how
and especially why, would a half
million travelers per year, mostly
children on 120 charter flights, come
to this remote region in search of
one of the biggest myths of them
all: Santa Claus.
After a one-hour flight, our plane
from Helsinki landed at Rovaniemi
Airport in mid-afternoon. The sun
was setting in a gorgeous, nearly
crimson sky, casting a pink light
upon the snow-covered landscape
of conifer and birch.
There was no sign of Santa.
Neither St. Nick, Kris Kringle nor
Father Christmas, however as we
WRITTEN BY JOHN HILFERTY
SEARCHING
FOR SANTA...
IN FINLAND’S ARCTIC CIRCLE
