Santa at war: ‘home’ town in Finland hosts Nato soldiers as Russian threat looms
Christmas tourists are noticing a growing military presence in Lapland, where Santa Park doubles as a bomb shelterBilled as the official home town of Santa Claus, or joulupukki as he is known in Finland, the city of Rovaniemi offers every imaginable Father Christmas-related experience – from a...
<p>Christmas tourists are noticing a growing military presence in Lapland, where Santa Park doubles as a bomb shelter</p><p>Billed as the official home town of Santa Claus, or <em>joulupukki</em> as he is known in Finland, the city of Rovaniemi offers every imaginable Father Christmas-related experience – from a visit to his “office” on the Arctic Circle to reindeer sleigh rides. He even has his own branch of the Finnish design house Marimekko.</p><p>But this Christmas season, in addition to the hundreds of thousands of tourists from around the world coming in search of Santa, Finnish Lapland’s snow-covered capital is becoming an increasingly popular destination for international military visitors.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/10/nato-russia-finland-border-lapland-santa-park">Continue reading...</a>
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