Where does Finnish Santa Claus live? What is the name of Finnish Santa Claus? What does Finnish Santa Claus look like and where does he live? Opening hours, ticket prices

Santa Claus or in Finnish Joulupukki ( Joulupukki) is the main character of the Finnish winter holidays. Almost everyone knows that he lives in northern Finland and helps spread the joy of Christmas to the whole world.

Korvatunturi, the mountain in Finnish Lapland where Santa Claus makes his home, is located 1,000 km north of the country's capital, Helsinki. Joulupukki lives there with his wife and hundreds of dwarves. From the top of Korvatunturi they can hear the Christmas wishes of children from all over the world.

For Finnish children, the countdown to Christmas begins with the beginning of Advent, when festive decorations appear on the streets.

Children, as well as adults, enjoy opening the windows of the Advent calendar, one window a day until Christmas Eve. Usually behind the windows there are funny pictures, and sometimes chocolate or other small gifts.

During the pre-Christmas period, as well as at other times of the year, Santa manages to appear and say Christmas greetings in cities in Finland and beyond. People often ask him about the gnomes he works with, and people from warmer countries are interested in reindeer and snow.

Reflection of snow and cold

At home in Finnish Lapland: children from warmer countries often ask Joulupukki about the cold and snow. Photo: Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva

In Finnish Lapland there is snow from November until late spring – sometimes even until May. How does Joulupukki answer questions about snow? He does his best to describe the snow and cold. Snow is a white, flaky substance consisting of crystals. You can use it to make snowmen, snow forts, snowballs, and sculptures. And when snowflakes dreamily fly to the ground, it’s a beautiful winter day.

Temperatures can drop to minus 30 degrees, so that the snow crunches under your feet as you walk, accompanied by the creaking of log houses. But surprisingly, compared to southern Finland, Lapland is not so cold. The frozen sea in the south and the snowy hills in the north convey the feeling of cold in different ways.

Snow helps Joulupukki transport gifts easily. He glides effortlessly through the snow in a sleigh pulled by prancing reindeer with Rudolph at the head.

Our friends the reindeer

The most famous reindeer of Finnish Santa Claus is, of course, the red-nosed Rudolf. But Joulupukki cannot travel to each house on just one reindeer, so Rudolf is one of many.

Energy boost: Joulupukki feeds tasty lichen to two of the many reindeer that help deliver gifts. Photo: Kasper Pempel/Lehtikuva

Working reindeer weigh about 100 kg each. They are strong enough to carry Santa Claus and pull a sleigh full of gifts over long distances. Rudolf's presence is especially important, as his red nose glows during the dark Christmas evenings when Joulupukki gets ready to travel.

Fawns are born in late spring and weigh about five kilograms. They grow very quickly, feeding on lichen. In autumn they eat delicious mushrooms that grow on the northern Finnish hills.

Tourists who come to Lapland can ride in a sleigh pulled by riding reindeer. It's very cool when the deer are carrying you and the snow is swirling around you.

House with gnomes

When Joulupukki is not delivering gifts or performing in public, he lives quietly at home. He, Joulumuori (the Finnish Snow Maiden) and the gnomes eat a lot of salmon, porridge and delicious local berries.

Joulupukki and Jouluimuori are not the only ones who have received help from the dwarves over the years. The tradition of house gnomes dates back to ancient times, more than 2 thousand years ago. The home gnome has always been a patron spirit who protected the house secretly and without unnecessary noise.

In Finland, such gnomes always protected the inhabitants of the country and helped them with housework. They heated the sauna, looked after the children, and took care of the grain, cattle, and horses in the stable. They were best friends with cats and dogs. Dwarves were also very attached to the old houses in which they lived.

People value gnomes and give them food in exchange for their services. In many houses, on Christmas Eve, a cup of rice porridge is specially left in the corner, and oddly enough, in the morning it always turns out to be empty.

Text: Sinikka Salokorpi

Joulupukki means "Yule goat" in Finnish. This name came from the Middle Ages, when Yule was celebrated - the holiday of the winter solstice and during the celebration the Yule goat went from house to house and checked whether everything was ready for the celebration: whether the house was clean, whether the necessary dishes were prepared, whether the owners of the house had new clothes. To appease the Yule goat, the housewives left him a special treat - shanezhki and cloudberry jam. In the 19th century, the role of the Yule goat changes - now it delivers gifts at Christmas.

By the end of the 19th century, the functions of the Yule goat were transferred to St. Nicholas, but the old name "Yolupukki" remains. The goat past continues in that Joulupukki now delivers gifts on goats.

Also a modern attribute of Christmas in Finland are straw or wooden Yule goats.

In 1930, an American of Finnish-Swedish origin, Haddon Sundblom, came up with the image of Santa Claus for the Coca-Cola advertising company, which had a huge influence not only on America, but on Europe, including Finland, where Joulupukki acquired many of the same features. Santa, including began to ride on reindeer. However, there is still a difference between these two characters: Joulupukki lives in Lapland on Mount Korvatunturi (on the border with Russia), while Santa Claus lives at the North Pole; Joulupukki doesn't climb up the chimney like Santa Claus, but knocks on the door. Joulupukki has a wife, Muori. Joulupukki's assistants are gnomes who help him sort out the mail. They have a hard time in this matter, because about 700 thousand letters are received at the Joulupukki postal address every year.

New Year in all countries is considered the kindest, most joyful holiday. This is the time when grievances are forgiven, everything bad is forgotten, the most secret wishes are made, which are sure to come true after the cherished chimes at midnight. They also love New Year because it is invariably associated with gifts! That is why the holiday has two main characters: the tree under which these gifts are placed, and Santa Claus, who brings them. Let's talk about the latter.

It's no secret that Santa Claus looks and is called differently among different nations. Moreover, even in Russia, different regions have their own Santa Clauses. For example, Bashkir and Tatar children are pleased with gifts on New Year's Eve by Kysh-Babai, and Udmurt children by Tol-Babai. Tuvan Father Frost bears the proud name Sook-Irey. And the Yakut master of the New Year is the lord of the cold, Chyskhaan. The Yamalo-Nenets holiday character is called Yamal-Pri, and the Karelian one is called Pakkaine.

If within one country, even one as large as Russia, there is such a rich variety of Santa Clauses, let alone other countries of the world.

Perhaps the most important “competitor” of our hero is Santa Claus. His “expansion” into our New Year’s market is so great that often our native Father Frost even looks the same as his English-speaking counterpart. Fortunately, they have recently begun to actively fight for the purity of the image of our winter grandfather - just look at the vigorous activity or his no less active

Probably, many Russians are close to two neighboring Santa Clauses - the Finnish Joulupukki and the Estonian Jouluvana. The thing is that these two countries are traditionally in great demand among our compatriots during the New Year holidays. Joulupukki welcomes young guests in Lapland, and every year it receives hundreds of thousands of cards with wishes from children from around the world.

Jõuluvana looks like his Finnish friend. This year he will actively work with guests at Tallinn Town Hall Square, at the Christmas market. The bearded wizard meets children and their parents, listens to wishes and treats visitors with sweets. Estonian Santa Claus is a real polyglot! He is fluent not only in Estonian, but also in Russian, English and Finnish.

In Sweden, the solemn duty of giving gifts to children is performed on the basis of mutually beneficial cooperation between two Santa Clauses. One of them is the stooped grandfather Yultomten, the second is the dwarf Yulnissaar.

In France there are also two Santa Clauses, and they work according to the principle of “good and evil investigator”. Kind Pere-Noel delivers gifts. And the strict Per-Fuetar carries rods in a basket, with which he punishes naughty and lazy children.

The Italian Santa Claus is also given punitive functions in relation to disobedient children. More precisely, Old Lady Frost. And even more precisely - the old woman Befana. On New Year's Eve, she flies into the house through the chimney. If a child has behaved well in the past year, he receives a gift. If it’s bad, just ashes.

A real joker is Santa Claus from the Basque Country. He always has a flask or two of good Spanish wine with him. But it can’t be any other way!

But no matter what name Father Frost bears - be it the Belarusian Zyuzya, the Ukrainian Did Moroz, the Armenian Dzmer-papi, the Serbian Ded Mraz, the Kazakh Ayaz-Ata, the Mongolian Uvlin-Uvgun and so on - he is invariably a kind and positive character. Probably because it is always associated with a holiday, with the beginning of something new, with hopes for change, with the love of loved ones and the joy of the first night of the coming year!

In this article we will tell you about the Finnish Santa Claus. There are no barriers for him; at any moment he can get on a sleigh and fly to any corner of the earth. His reindeer can talk, and during the Christmas holidays they sing. His bag is never empty, and he has surprises in store for everyone, both children and adults. In different countries this wizard is called differently, but in his homeland, in distant Lapland, his name is Joulupukki. Translated from Finnish, it sounds like “Christmas goat.” It must be said that the Finnish Santa Claus received this nickname many centuries ago from villagers.

In those distant times, there was one rural custom when local men went home for Christmas and gave out gifts. To do this, they wore goat fur coats, which is why they got such a strange nickname. Over time, everyone got used to the fact that Santa Claus carries gifts for Christmas and New Year, but this nickname remained. They say that he was offended by people for this, so most of the time he sits in his residence, and his assistants deliver gifts. True, on the eve of the holiday he manages to appear in every city in the country with his Christmas greeting.

Finnish Santa Claus lives in northern Finland, near the city of Rovaniemi, a thousand kilometers from Helsinki. His village is located on the slope of Mount Korvatunturi. The house is decorated with colorful light bulbs, and everything inside is very cozy and truly fabulous. For Finnish children, the holiday begins in advance - with the beginning of the pre-holiday fast. Adults buy them special Advent calendars and they open one window every day and this continues until Christmas Eve. A funny picture, a sweet or even a small toy is waiting for the baby outside the window. Finnish Santa Claus has his own large reindeer farm and the most important and favorite reindeer for children, whose name is Rudolf.

But it should be noted that besides him there are other strong deer. But none of them has a bright nose like Rudolph, and this is very important when they go on a journey. So the presence of this particular deer is always mandatory. They are born very tiny, about 5 kilograms, and this wonderful event usually occurs at the end of spring. These animals grow rapidly, quickly gain weight in order to become stronger by winter and not freeze when the temperature drops to a very low value. By the way, what is very surprising is that winter in Lapland is much milder than in the south of the country. There, due to the proximity of the sea, the climate is more humid and, therefore, less comfortable. For tourists visiting this region, this is one of the most fun activities.

How does Joulupukki guess wishes?

Joulupukki has such a large beard that it is difficult to tell whether he is smiling or not. But his kind and cheerful disposition is always revealed by his eyes. It must be said that he has smart and wise people. “Are you a good child?” Finnish Father Frost asks his little visitors. You can't lie, Santa has a huge library where there are books about all the children on earth. Joulupukki will reveal one of them and find out whether they are telling him the truth or deceiving him. But they do not only talk about behavior.

They contain all the secret desires of all children. How did the Finnish Santa Claus know about them? They say that Mount Korvatunturi has three ears. They capture any desires and changes in the child’s life and pass them on to Grandfather. If suddenly a baby stops believing in a miracle, this is an extremely unpleasant case. The gnomes are trying their best to prepare the most amazing gift for this child. But if this does not help, then the name of this boy or girl is automatically erased from the book, and this means that they have become adults. Gnomes help keep records, sort letters, and wrap gifts.

Let us note that almost a million letters arrive at the Main Post Office every year. Even such a wizard as the Finnish Father Frost is simply not able to re-read them all. The post office is run by the chief postal gnome. His main duty is to ensure that not a single letter is lost. All the pre-holiday bustle in the residence ends exactly at midnight on Christmas Day. Deep night falls on the earth, and only the stars twinkle especially brightly and solemnly.

Christmas bells ring throughout the area. This is Rudolph, along with other reindeer, ready to rush off on a trip around the world. Finnish Santa Claus must hurry, because there is very little time left before dawn. Children will wake up, and everyone will find a treasured gift from the main Christmas wizard under the Christmas tree, or on the window, or in a stocking on the fireplace. In our next article we will tell you. Every year a huge number of tourists go there, perhaps next year you will want to go too.

Every child and adult knows the main character of the winter holidays. The one who leaves gifts under the tree and charges the atmosphere with holiday and New Year's fun. A legend associated with an unknown person who came to low-income families and gave gifts appeared back in the 4th century in Turkey. And to this day, the belief in the mystical Santa Claus lives on, who lives in Lapland surrounded by gnomes and delivers gifts on his reindeer. Some people are afraid of him, while others wait for him every year and dream of meeting him. But how is the Finnish Santa Claus different from the one we know? And why is Joulupukki the most famous Santa Claus in the world?

The Finnish Santa Claus is called Joulupukki, he lives in the North Pole and helps bring the Christmas spirit to every home in Finland. Joulupukki means "Christmas goat" in Finnish. In Scandinavian countries, the Christmas goat was depicted wearing a straw hat and was associated with the herald of Christmas.

Just two centuries ago, the Finnish Father Frost was depicted in the form of a goat with small horns. And now he looks like Santa Claus. He has a snow-white long beard that completely hides his emotions, and only his kind eyes are visible. Through his glasses he looks at all the children and asks: “Are you good children?” Finnish Santa Claus in a red suit, which always makes him stand out.

Also, the name Joulupukki is associated with the historical celebration of the New Year by the Finns. Residents of small villages put on goat's fur coats and distributed gifts. Folk legends say that it was they who scared Joulupukki away and now he does not ride a sleigh with reindeers from his Residence.

Residence of Finnish Santa Claus: where Joulupukki lives

Finnish Santa Claus lives in the north - in. Since the middle of the 19th century, Mount Korvatunturi has been his permanent residence. Mount Korvatunturi resembles ears. Legend has it that this is what helps Finnish Santa Claus hear the dreams of all the children in the world. His wooden residence is decorated with light bulbs. And on the eve of Christmas it is filled with noise and preparation for the holiday. The gnomes fill out Christmas cards, prepare gift lists, and sign forms.

To ensure that the message reaches Joulupukki, many children write letters and send them to his official postal address: Finlandia, 99999, Korvatunturi. You just need to express your thoughts and desires, you can do it in the form of a drawing, attach a stamp and send it. Half a million letters arrive annually to the small but world-famous residence.

The temperature in Lapland reaches -30°C, but this does not at all prevent Joulupukki from bringing celebration into people's lives, and even helps. He glides through the snow with ease on his reindeer-drawn sleigh. The most important of them is Rudolph with a red nose, who lights the way. But Rudolph the reindeer alone cannot visit all the children, so he has many such helpers.

The belief that Joulupukki is the real Santa Claus is so strong that many tourists come to meet him in Lapland and ride real reindeer. The impressions are indescribable, because this is an opportunity to feel like a real Santa Claus.

Joulupukki's wife

Joulupukki has a Finnish wife, the Snow Maiden – Joulumuori, who personifies winter. They live together in Lapland with gnomes and reindeer. When Joulupukki is not busy preparing for the Christmas holidays and having fun with the children, they spend time together. But before Christmas, everyone is preparing for the celebration. Also, Joulupukki, together with the gnomes, says greetings in Finnish cities that are located near Lapland.