In Finland’s snowy far north, international visitors normally flood the Santa Claus Village amusement park, in search of reindeer rides, snow castles and a meeting with the jolly man himself.
Under the pandemic travel restrictions, however, crowds in the Lapland town of Rovaniemi have dwindled to just a trickle and the joyful winter wonderland feels ghostly and abandoned.
Video: AFPTV/AFP
“It’s been an exceptional and difficult year,” Santa tells AFP from behind a plexiglass screen installed in his grotto, adding that his visitors have appreciated being able to forget a tough year and enjoy the Christmas cheer.
Tel Aviv enjoys the dancing Northern Lights thanks to Visit Rovaniemi India Blooms
Rovaniemi (Finland), Dec. 17 The home of Santa Claus, in the heart of the Lapland, Rovaniemi surprised everyone with its special greetings to mark the 70 years of diplomatic relations between Finland and Israel.
Taking the virtual route, Visit Rovaniemi transported the dancing Northern Lights for viewers to enjoy it from Israel s capital city Tel Aviv.
Managing Director of Visit Rovaniemi, Sanna Karkkainen said the Northern Lights were truly the authentic Auroras of Rovaniemi and therefore the video installation was projected in a manner that it was widely visible.
Worldcrunch Today, Dec. 15: Dutch Lockdown, Barr Resigns, Jakarta Burials Watching the solar eclipse on the shores of Lake Villarrica, Chile. - Matias Basualdo/ZUMA 2019-12-15
Welcome to Tuesday, where Trump s Attorney General resigns, Somalia cuts diplomatic ties with Kenya and we meet one weird-looking dinosaur. Meanwhile, t is the season to look at how the world is getting ready for a very special kind of Christmas.
SPOTLIGHT: EUROPE IS RIGHT TO CALL UP BIG GUNS AGAINST BIG TECH
Europe is moving forward in a united front to force Big Tech that could lead to a historic showdown on the future of how the digital economy functions. This, writes David Barroux in French daily Les Echos, is a good thing:
The World Prepares For A Very Different Kind Of Christmas 2020-12-15
After a year that s been as trying as it is troubling, the holidays are finally upon us, and for many there s a temptation to treat the upcoming festivities as a welcome catharsis. But for governments, this most wonderful time of the year represents a real conundrum: How to allow for some much-needed Yuletide joy while at the same time, taking steps to keep the New Year from beginning with a new surge of coronavirus cases.
Christmas bubbles: The UK will also allow people to gather, but only for five days, between Dec. 23-27, with a larger window for Northern Ireland to give more time to people to travel between the nations.