Do You Know Where Santa Lives?

One of the most beloved and well known figures for children everywhere, Santa Claus, or Kris Kringle, is depicted as a jolly old man who travels all over the world on Christmas Eve, bringing presents to good girls and boys. Legends abound about how his toys are made, who makes them, who helps, and how he gets around, but where he lives seems to be the one standard in all tales. Of course, what seems to be left out is anything specific about his lifestyle; the North Pole is the answer of where, but how?

They say that the life present in the Arctic Tundra of North Pole is very limited in variety, Musk-Ox, Reindeer with a few snow-shoe Rabbits, Arctic Fox, Snowy Owl and the big Polar Bear with flies, mosquitoes, butterflies, grasshoppers and beetles making it on to the list as well. In all honesty though, when we think of Santa’s North Pole, you wish it more to be about imagination than the scientific facts.

The North Pole, picture the icy terrain, nothing moving but perhaps a few polar bears and penguins. But wait, most stories I’ve heard don’t mention animals, except for the famous flying reindeer. So now we’re down to the fat fellow and some reindeer in an arctic paradise, good thing he has a wife to keep him company. And elves, lots and lots of elves, he needs them to help him make the toys. No one knows why elves are his helpers, maybe because they are low to the ground and can burrow through the snow easier, maybe because Santa doesn’t like to share his food too much, or maybe only to have something different and unexpected added to the legend. Have a clear picture in your mind yet? I’m seeing a man, his wife, a bunch of little people and reindeer, stuck in the blistering snow, and it is really cold! …Well, I guess no one will freeze thinking of it, so lets move on to describing the house.

Nothing in legend ever goes into details about the house itself, though there are depictions in movies. The great thing about this is that the children can imagine whatever they want. With the extensive nature of the undertaking, Santa would need a house, a workshop, stables, a huge kitchen (for making all those cookies and hot chocolate that keeps him so healthy), and maybe a bunkhouse, or a tiny cottages for the elves. Just to make sure you’re right, ask a child, any child, and listen to their imagination take flight, just like the reindeer do. According to a very reliable source (my son), it was revealed that the whole setup is actually underground. Why there? Well, according to him, it’s the warmest way to live at the North Pole, the winds can’t blow your hair if you’re underground, and the underground has quite a bit more space than above ground. What actually is above the ground??? That again is not clear, may be the other animals of the Arctic have taken up all the space or perhaps the elves’ village is on top of Santa’s underground adobe, who knows!! Either way, there’s an opening to let the reindeer fly out from, a runway lined with flickering colored lights and candy canes, and some sort of opening to let the smoke from the chimney, or chimneys escape.

No matter what you picture or what you believe is or could be there, the legend of St. Nicholas will continue, bringing joy to children, giving hope for better times to parents, and allowing imaginations to soar for young and old alike.

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