Join us as we travel to the home of Santa and his busy workshop.

The North Pole is the northernmost point on Earth. Every direction from the North Pole is south—no east or west, just heading south with any step you take. The North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, amidst waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice, making a permanent structure impossible. During the summer months, the North Pole experiences twenty-four hours of daylight daily, but during the winter months the North Pole experiences twenty-four hours of darkness daily. Sunrise and sunset do not occur in a twenty-four hour cycle—instead what we see as a single day takes 6 months. The sun rises and takes three months to reach the top point and then takes 3 months to set, followed by 6 months of no sun at all. Winter temperature averages -45 and summer a balmy 0 degrees.

So how did Santa come to live in such a place? Let’s trace the tale. Immigrants arriving in America each brought their own Holiday traditions many of which featured a benevolent giver in some way related to St. Nicholas of Turkey, a fourth century bishop known for his generosity especially to needy children. The name Santa Claus is believed to have grown from the Dutch Sinterklaas (meaning St. Nicholas). When children mispronounced it, it sounded like Santy Claus and became Santa Claus. In 1808, American author Washington Irving wrote of a Dutchman who dropped presents down chimneys and smoked a pipe when creating a satire that was instead enjoyed as a tale. Several of Irving’s ideas were used in 1822 by Dr. Clement Clarke Moore in his poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” commonly known as “The Night Before Christmas”. His tale gave even more details to the appearance of Santa. A few years later, in 1863, Thomas Nast was asked to illustrate Moore’s poem and created an elf with human features and a sweet smile. He also gave him a home at the North Pole—the one place that no family could actually travel to keeping it a magical location. For the next 23 Decembers, Nast drew the magical world of Santa Claus for Harpers Weekly. Artist Haddon Sundblom added the final touches to our modern Santa when he created a billboard for Coca Cola featuring a human sized, grandfatherly Santa. This image struck a cord with American families and has endured as our beloved Santa ever since.

Grab your holiday spirit and jump right in!