Poczta Świętego Mikołaja w Rovaniemi

WORDS BYLINE: Seamus Duff Visitors to Santa Claus Village near the city of Rovaniemi in Lapland, Finland, may be forgiven for thinking the charming Post Office staffed by elves is nothing more than a festive prop. However, the building and its employees provide one of the most important jobs in international post –sorting through the hundreds of thousands of letters that are sent to Santa himself every year. “It comes as a surprise to many visitors, because they are thinking that this is some kind of a pretend post office, but it's real,” Heidi, one of the full-time Postal Elves who has worked at the centre for 20 years explains – going on to highlight that the mail centre serves the local community as well as Santa himself. “We are an actual State Post Office. So the local people who live in the area, they use us as a normal post office, and they pick up their parcels and send post from here.” The current site of the Santa Claus’ Main Post Office has been open since 1991 – and there has been postal services at the Arctic Circle from 1950's. Since the current location is the official Post Office of Father Christmas, the mail room receives letters addressed to Santa that have been sent from anywhere in the world. As a result, the office is inundated with letters with tens of thousands arriving each day during peak season and further letters arriving every day of the year. “In December, and I would say also in January, 30,000 letters are arriving each day,” Elina, another Postal Elf who has worked at the centre for 15 years, reveals. “That's the very busiest time with the letters. But even in the summertime we receive letters which can even be a few hundred that arrive daily. It always feels busy.” Of course, the office receives plenty of wish lists from children around the world hoping to receive their top gifts at Christmas, but the elves who work there – who open and read every letter addressed to Santa to help him with the busy workload – are surprised by the emotional personal notes that are sent to the jolly red figure. “Quite a lot of them are not wish lists. So they are actual letters where people tell Santa about their lives and how they have been doing,” Elina explains. “Many people write a letter every year and say how their year has been and they are very full of life and full of detail. You can see how the world is in different places through the letters.” “And it's not just kids that write. Adults write to Santa Claus as well,” Heidi adds. “Especially young adults, from 16 to maybe 28, who ask for advice.” The duo explain that they have been surprised by the number of letters they receive from Asian countries where life advice is requested rather than demands for the latest technology or fashion items for Christmas stockings. “I would say most of the letters that come from young adults reveal a level of stress relating to their studies,” Elina reveals. “They don't ask Santa for anything materialistic, instead they ask for energy to study or to get better grades, and for help to get into a certain University. They ask Santa for strength, and he is seen as a figure of hope and good in the world.” Having been in a relationship with Mrs Claus for centuries, it is perhaps not surprising that Santa also receives requests for relationship advice. “There are quite a lot of letters which say, ‘Santa, I have met this girl or this boy. What do I do now? Can you help me?’ So there are all kinds of letters,” Elina confirms. While he is known for being the undisputed king of gift giving, Santa too receives gifts – with woollen socks, paintings and drawings often being received from around the globe. And after Christmas itself, Santa receives thousands of thank-you letters – while Christmas lists continue to arrive until deep into January. “A very large amount of the letters do come after Christmas,” Heidi explains, “because they are sending them right before Christmas. So obviously it takes several weeks, or maybe a couple of months to get here if they are sent from very faraway places.” With over half a million letters arriving each season, the elves admit that not every letter can be replied to, but responses to hospitals, schools and kindergartens are prioritised. Heidi and Elina confirm that every single letter is read by either Santa or one of the elves working in the Post Office. And they have shared some points for those who hope to receive a reply. “Santa cannot answer letters that have no addresses on them,” Elina says. “Often they are just sent, ‘To Santa Claus’ with no return address. And if the letter is just a wish list, then Santa has, in a way, replied as the gifts you receive are the answer to the letter.” “We do send letters to people, but he cannot reply to all of them,” Heidi adds. “When there is someone who shares more about their life, or asks Santa a lot of questions, maybe they might have a little bit better chance to get a reply. But it's always a nice surprise if someone gets an answer.” Visitors to Santa Claus Village can also send mail from the Santa Claus Main Post Office – with a special red box that collects notes all year round which are then dispatched to reach loved ones in time for Christmas. “We have our own stamps and our own special postmark that you cannot get from anywhere but from our post office,” Elina says – while Heidi adds that it is another part of the work day that keeps the Postal Elves busy. “At this time of year, it fills up very quickly,” she says, “We have to empty it daily at the very least.” For information on how to visit Santa Claus’s Main Post Office and Santa Claus Village, visit santaclausvillage.info. When: 05 Dec 2024 Credit: Santa Claus’ Main Post Office/Cover Images **EDITORIAL USE ONLY. MATERIALS ONLY TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH EDITORIAL STORY. THE USE OF THESE MATERIALS FOR ADVERTISING, MARKETING OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. 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