Santa Claus is alive and well and living in Finland.
The so-called “happiest” country on earth has a magical tradition that lifts spirits all over the world — a post office where wishful letter writers are promised a direct line to jolly old St. Nick 365 days a year.
Taxpayer-funded and located at the Santa Claus Village tourist destination near the city of Rovaniemi in Finland’s Lapland region, the magical mail drop is staffed by a crew of full-time “elves” — some of whom have worked there for decades.
At a time when even Santa’s job is at risk of being taken over by artificial intelligence, the happy crew working for the sleigh-wielding wish fulfiller spend their days sorting through hundreds of thousands of letters sent to the nearly-North Pole address every year — even responding to a surprisingly large chunk of the correspondence.
“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, a seasoned vet of the festive sorting office told Cover Images.
The Santa Claus Main Post Office first opened in 1991 — and is considered Santa’s “official” address, at least by the FInns.
“In December, and I would say also in January, 30,000 letters are arriving each day,” Elina, another one of the elves, revealed. “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.”
Many of the envelopes contain wish lists compiled by young children — and the elves promise they open and read every single letter that comes in addressed to Santa, or to the man in red’s various aliases.
But then there are the many, highly personal notes that come in all year long — from Father Christmas fans of all ages, the workers note. And many of them don’t want anything except life advice, they say.
“Quite a lot of [the letters] are not wish lists,” Elina explained. “So they are actual letters where people tell Santa about their lives and how they have been doing.
“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 added. “Especially young adults, from 16 to maybe 28, who ask for advice.”
“I would say most of the letters that come from young adults reveal a level of stress relating to their studies,” Elina said. “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.”
The big guy is also seen by people in some countries as a giver of 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 said.
And then there are those who follow the advice that it’s better to give than to receive quite literally, the elves shared — with paintings, drawings and practical presents like wool socks frequently unwrapped as part of elves’ work day.
While it’s impossible to say thank you to the half million or more people estimated to be sending letters each year, the crew promise that everything gets read — and that organizations like hospitals, schools and daycare centers are prioritized to receive replies.
“We do send letters to people, but he cannot reply to all of them,” Heidi said. “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.”
