Main content

The home of Santa Claus

How Rovaniemi, a small town in Lapland, became the centre of Christmas tourism.

Rovaniemi, a small town in Lapland, is home to dozens of Christmas tourist attractions and is widely considered the unofficial home of Santa Claus. The town had to re-invent itself after being flattened during the Arctic campaign in World War Two, and was inspired to become a Christmas destination by a visit from the American first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. Rovaniemi now gets more than half a million visitors a year. Petra Zivic talks to two local residents.

PHOTO: Father Christmas in his "office" near Rovaniemi (Getty Images)

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Christmas Day 2021 03:50GMT
大象传媒 World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, Australasia, East Asia & South Asia

More episodes

Previous

Bahrain's 2011 protests

Next

Pong and the birth of computer games

See all episodes from Witness History

Broadcasts

  • Christmas Eve 2021 08:50GMT
    大象传媒 World Service
  • Christmas Eve 2021 12:50GMT
    大象传媒 World Service
  • Christmas Eve 2021 18:50GMT
    大象传媒 World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
  • Christmas Eve 2021 23:50GMT
    大象传媒 World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Christmas Day 2021 03:50GMT
    大象传媒 World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, Australasia, East Asia & South Asia

Podcast