site.btaUPDATED BTA Archives Look at Santa's Versions in Different Countries

Where is Santa Claus's homeland, what does he drive, and what is his actual name? Articles published by BTA over the past 25 years have been trying to answer these questions and more.

Where does Santa Claus live?

It is common knowledge that Kris Kringle lives somewhere near the North Pole. The exact location, however, is contested by at least four countries: Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, the AP reported on December 23, 1998.

The Finns have no doubt - Joulupukki, the Finnish Christmas figure, lives in Korvatunturi. This year alone he has received some 750,000 letters at his home in Lapland. Each year, before embarking on a round-the-world trip, he stops by his workshop in the town of Rovaniemi, which has turned into a great tourist attraction thanks to him.

Jultomten, the Swedish version of Father Christmas, lives in Gesunda, 250 km northwest of Stockholm. His Norwegian counterpart, Nissen, has been living in Drobak, 50 km south of Oslo, for more than a millennium. According to Norwegian lore, he was born in 971 AD, in the heyday of the Viking Age.

Danes on the other hand know that Santa lives in Greenland. His six-metre-high letterbox there has already received 150,000 letters from more than 100 countries.

People in Iceland do not have a single Santa Claus. Instead, they have 13 Yule Lads - a group of mischievous pranksters, who steal from or otherwise harass the population. They may also leave small gifts in shoes for the good children.

Ded Moroz or Santa Claus

Then Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov greeted Russia's Ded Moroz during a celebration at City Hall, the AP reported on December 23, 2000. Ded Moroz, who reportedly lives in the Russian town of Veliky Ustyug, is superior to his western counterpart Santa Claus, Luzhkov declared.

Santa Claus around the world

According to a poll conducted by ABC News, while most people in the Western world see Santa as riding on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, residents of Manhattan in New York City tend to see him as riding on a taxi.

Most Brits feel privileged, as they claim Santa visits them before he goes to the States and saves his best presents for them. Scots, however, complain that Saint Nick would visit them five hours after he's been to New York City, and he would only give them the "leftovers".

Not all countries have Santa to deliver their presents. That task is performed by Baby Jesus in Venezuela and by a Christmas Angel in Germany.

The Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus is called Sinterklaas and is based on Saint Nick. He arrives to the country by boat and rides on a white horse. He can be assisted by Zwarte Piet (Black Pete), a controversial figure due to his association with colonialism and blackface.

Tales in many countries warn of nefarious creatures that tend to appear around Christmas. Children in Greece sing songs to scare away the kallikantzaroi - creatures that live underground and try to saw the trunk of the tree that holds the Earth. When Christmas dawns, the kallikantzaroi are able to come to the surface and mess with people. According to legend, they put out fires in fireplaces, they make milk go sour, and sometimes they climb on people's backs to ride them like horses.

The 13 Yule Lads in Iceland can cause mischief such as slamming doors or licking spoons in a household. Over the summer, they live in a cave with the Yule Cat - a huge and vicious beast, who lurks about the snowy countryside during Christmas time and eats people, who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.