EUROPEAN SANTA CLAUS GAP
Christmas Custom Crisis Threatens Fragile Peace on Earth
Finland
claims to be the home of Santa Claus, present year round in his Village
in the North Pole
town of Rovaniemi. Iceland, with
its House of Christmas in Reykjavik tries to trump with its custom of
13 Santa Clauses in the form its Yule Men or Christmas Lads who start
arriving 13 days before Christmas. While, in ever icoclastic and isolationist
Switzerland, some regions have no Santa Clauses for gifting, prefering
to eschew the jolly old elf and go straight to the source, having the
Christ
Child
himself deliver presents - without
Joseph and Mary, unsupervised, handing out gifts to children.
Finland - Santa's Village
Thousand of people make the journey to Santa’s Village in Finland, where old St. Nick can be found in his office on the Arctic Circle preparing for his annual Christmas trip, with his Lapland reindeer grazing on the tundra. Plan a visit to Finland’s Santa Village a beautiful complex or stone and logs set in a sparkling winter wonderland, or if you just want to send a letter for your eager child and have it returned with a North Pole postmark, Santa Claus’ main post office is open all year and Santa’s mail box is available online (www.santaclaus.posti.fi). Santa’s assistant elves speak many languages, of course.
Iceland
- Thirteen Christmas Lads
Iceland’s 13 Santas or Christmas Kids “Jolasveinar” are
the sons of two trolls, Gryla and Leppaludi, and take characters
with names like Curd Glutton, Sausage Swiper and Meat Hook, for their
mischievous
pranks. They started out in olden days to be rather scary boys,
but over time have grown into more familiar jolly elfs who arrive one
at a time
over the twelve days of Christmas and leave little presents for
the children who have behaved all year. The kids leave their shoes
on their window
sills into which the Jolasveinar place gifts to be found by the
family. Any children who have been naughty get a potato or some other
reminder
that good behavior is essential around Christmas. For year round
Christmas spirit the House of Christmas in the center of Reykjavik
offers quality
Icelandic Christmas handicrafts including unique figures of Iceland’s
special santas. Just follow Skólavörðustígur
street to the big church and look to the left. For a cheap European Christmas
experience, Iceland is especially budget friendly now since Santa left
a lump of coal in their
investment
portfolio
- and they're the closest.
Switzerland
- Christkindl and Chlausjegen
In
Switzerland, Dec. 6th is the big Christmas celebration - Chlausjagen
Festival (Klausjagen) or the Feast of Saint Nicholas.
In the small village of Kussnacht, just a ferry ride
on beautiful Lake Lucerne from the city of Lucerne
(Luzern), a cannon shot fires and the street go dark before nearly
two hundred celebrants called "lifeltrager" (all men)
dance in white robe costumes with enormous transparent bishop's
miters, some
6 feet high balanced on their heads lit by candles, escorting
St. Nicholas on his way through the village. Heavy bells worn
around
the neck accompany
the Swiss horn blowing to announce the coming of Christmas. Star
Singers or Sternsingers dressed as the Three Kings parade through
the streets
of towns singing Christmas carols throughout the holiday season.
The children wait for the Christ child called Christkindl, to
arrive with
present in his reindeer-drawn sleigh. A
wide variety of Christmas customs are practiced in neighboring
Swiss villages were
centuries
of isolation during the winter months when the heavy snow
restricted travel
between the mountain valleys. Yet, there is
indeed a Santa Claus in Zurich, who trundles through town in a
fairy
tale
tram to give children rides through
the city, handing out sweets. Most Swiss Christmas Markets
happen on the 6th and 7th of December, but in Winterthur the
Christmas Market
Festival located around
the main train station lasts until December 22, while Zurich hosts
Switzerland's biggest Christkindl Market at its main train station. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Finland
Iceland
Switzerland
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SEE ALSO:
ZURICH
FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS
BEST BIG CHRISTMAS MARKETS IN GERMANY
GERMANY
MEDIEVAL CHRISTMAS MARKETS
MATTERHORN -
SKI ZERMATT UNDER A ROMANTIC MOON
WINTER
SKI RESORTS OF LAKE GENEVA REGION
