A Santa Conspiracy? or "Our brains were frozen"

Over the past 24 hours my blog has been visited by Kanturk (Ireland), Sao Paulo, Athens, Milan, Artem (Russia), Turin, Rikmaki (Finland), Rovaniemi (Lapland), Mandaguari (Brazil), Montesilvano, Dublin, Thailand, Rome, Bourg-Argental (France), Leeds, Manama (Bahrain), Tallin (Estonia) .

Rovaniemi stumped me and I had to go to Google. For those who don't know, it's the official home town of Santa Claus!! After a little forensic work, I believe I've accidentally tapped into some kind of secret elf rat line. Why else would I be getting all the foreign visits? A post script: my husband just came home and I asked him if he knew of Rovaniemi. He said "Of course. I've been there - on the train that goes north from Helsinki. Very spare." He laughed off the Santa Claus claim even when I told him that Santa has an office there. 

Despite the skepticism I am feeling right here in my own little room, I think there may be a big story here.  Have Santa and his helpers been using the internet for centuries (maybe Al Gore is really an under cover elf) and that's how Santa gets the scoop on whether you've been good or bad? And maybe he's been using a personal shopper in every city and that's how the presents get to your house from the North Pole. 

Here's some info from the Rovaniemi web page. Note that it has eight seasons named like the colors in fashion catalogs: "Frosty Twilight", "Midnight Sun". What clever folks are the Rovanieminian marketing people! In Winnipeg, where I grew up, we missed the golden opportunity to name January something romantic instead of God Damn Cold - the only thing we could think of when it was -40 F and
our brains were frozen. "Our Brains were Frozen" - great name for a Winnipegian memoir and oh no, a melody is breaking through - It's Now or Never. That'll be rattling around in my irradiated noggin for a day or two. 

Elves, if you're there - listen up. Come out from the shadows! You're among friends - leave us a comment. That's a good elf!!

Then again maybe this is some kind of horrible virus - sent in little bits from computers all over the globe and designed to, to ...........ugh, I don't even want to think about it. 

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland in Finland, located at the northern Arctic Circle.
Lying at the junction of North and South on the border to the Arctic,
Rovaniemi has become a modern town, full of life with its own unique characteristics.

There are eight different seasons this far north, each having its own type of daylight,
temperature and natural phenomena. The changing seasons offer excellent settings
for a whole variety of activities. During the frosty twilight, you can ride a snowmobile
through snowy forests or over a frozen river, the Midnight Sun on the other hand,
takes you cruising in a boat on the river. Each season offers an opportunity to experience
the town in a totally different light.

Although Christmastime comes but once a year, in Rovaniemi you can experience Christmas throughout the year. Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland, is the hometown of Santa Claus who can be met on any day of the year at the Santa Claus Office on the Arctic Circle. 


Welcome to Rovaniemi, the heart of Lapland in Finland!