‘Santa’ bares most requested gift

MANILA, Philippines — Of the half a million people who troop to Santa Claus Village on the Arctic or Polar Circle in Rovaniemi, Finland ­– dubbed the official hometown of Santa Claus since 2010 – a majority have the same request for Christmas.

A Barbie Doll? A sports car? Not quite.

“Happiness,” revealed “Santa Claus,” the multilingual actor who sits on a red velvet armchair and lends an ear to all those who form a beeline to see him in an office lined with bookshelves and a mural of the map of the world in Rovaniemi.

“Happiness is what is asked most of me, and that is what I wish for all peoples of the world,” he said, as I took my place beside him for a coveted three minutes of a childhood relived. (This would be preserved with an official souvenir photo for the price of eight euros.)

To those who believe in Santa Claus, and to those who no longer do, he added in his jolly voice, “As long as I have a place in your heart, I have a home.”

In northernmost Finland, Rovaniemi is a modern city known for being the “official” hometown of Santa Claus. Legend has it that since Santa Claus’ original home lies in the mysterious Korvatunturi (“Ear Fell”) in Finnish Lapland, he decided to establish an office in Rovaniemi in 1985. Rovaniemi received the status of the “Official Hometown of Santa Claus” in 2010.

The Arctic or Polar Circle (as determined in 1865) cuts through Santa’s Village, a sprawling snow-covered village that seemed to have leaped straight out of a child’s storybook.

“Even for adults, there is the thrill of meeting Santa. It is never too late to meet Santa Claus,” says Filipino travel executive Shan Dioquino David, on why she flew halfway across the globe and lined up to visit Santa Claus in his “official” home. “There is a certain thrill to actually meeting Santa in the Polar Circle, as close to the North Pole as you could get.”

“To be seated beside Santa was a childhood experience I never had,” says businesswoman Annabelle Sanz Espino, who plans to bring all her children to this snow-blanketed winter wonderland someday soon.

Since 1985, Santa Claus has received over 15 million letters from 198 countries, and the Santa Village on the Polar Circle is the only place on earth where every letter gets a special Arctic or Polar Circle postmark not available anywhere else.

An adult’s wish, a child’s dream

It was an adult’s desire to visit the Polar Circle that spawned the birth of Santa Claus Village.