In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

and his

elves An elf (: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic ''Poetic Edda'' and the ''Prose Edda''. In medieval Germanic-speakin ...

live and make the

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

s and presents given out at

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local culture, however it is generally said to be somewhere around or on the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. There are at least eight claimed locations for his workshop. For example, people in Canada send letters to Santa's Workshop at his North Pole location in Canada, with the unique postal code of "H0H 0H0", stylized as H0 H0 H0. In the United States, the workshop is considered to be a sprawling commune located at the

. Some people in the United Kingdom and Finland believe that Father Christmas' Workshop is located in Northern Finland in Korvatunturi, Lapland. In addition to housing the factory where toys are either manufactured or distributed by the

, the complex also houses the residence of Santa, his

wife A wife (: wives) is a woman in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until their marriage is legally dissolved with a divorce judgment; or until death, depending on the kind of marriage. On t ...

, companions, and all of the

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

Santa Claus grottos and department stores

In the late 19th century, it became common during December in large shops or

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

s to have a "cavern" in which an

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

dressed up as Santa Claus would give gifts to people. Grottos can be large walk-through fantasy cavern-like areas incorporating

animatronic An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...

characters, such as elves and

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

characters. A concept devised by

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

-based retail entrepreneur David Lewis to attract customers to his department store, this tradition started in Britain in 1879 and then, from the 1890s onward, extended to Australian and American department stores. The world's first Christmas grotto was in

Lewis's Lewis's is an online retailer and homeware brand. It was also a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's went into administration several times, including in 1991. The first store, which ope ...

Bon Marche department store in Liverpool, England. The grotto was opened in 1879, entitled "Christmas Fairyland." The idea then took hold in the rest of the UK. A staple of Liverpool's festive season, many generations first visited Father Christmas at Lewis's, with the final displays covering over . The grotto has now moved to St Johns Market, St Johns Shopping Centre after being saved by entrepreneur Guy Fennell in 2017. The grotto runs by the name 'Liverpool's Famous Grotto'. Shopping malls have also set up interactive exhibits. In

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, the first "Magic Cave" was set up in 1896 at the John Martin's department store on Rundle Street (now Rundle Mall). An annual store-sponsored parade, the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, was initiated in 1933 during which Father Christmas was conducted at the Magic Cave to formally herald the holiday season. Since the closure of John Martin's, the David Jones stores, have continued the tradition of the Magic Cave. It is traditional that the people receive a toy from Father Christmas, upon visiting his grotto whether in a shopping mall or a little garden center. Grottos are sometimes free and they sometimes charge parents to let their children see Santa and receive a surprise gift.

Amusement parks

A themed attraction in Santa Claus, Indiana named Santa's Candy Castle emulates the traditional depiction of Santa's workshop. There is also a

Santa's Workshop In Christmas folklore and legends, Santa's Workshop is the workshop where Santa Claus and his Christmas elf, elves live and make the toys and presents given out at Christmas. The exact location of Santa's workshop varies depending upon local cult ...

amusement park in North Pole, New York. A 1946 theme park Holiday World & Splashin' Safari was known as "Santa Claus Land" prior to 1984 and is in Santa Claus, Indiana. Another location for

, (since 1960), can also be found in North Pole Colorado - better known as Cascade Colorado - year-round.

Elves

The image of the elves in the workshop was popularized by ''

Godey's Lady's Book ''Godey's Lady's Book'', alternatively known as ''Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book'', was an American women's magazine that was published in Philadelphia from 1830 to 1896. It was the most widely circulated magazine in the period before the Civi ...

'', with a front cover illustration for its 1873 Christmas issue showing Santa surrounded by toys and elves with the caption, "Here we have an idea of the preparations that are made to supply the young folks with toys at Christmas time."

Location

From 1879 to 1886,

Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a sharp critic of William M. Tweed, "Boss" Tweed and the T ...

published a series of drawings introducing the idea that Santa's workshop is at the

. The

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...

postal code for the workshop is H0H 0H0. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

recommends mail to Santa's workshop be sent to 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888. The British postal service,

Royal Mail Royal Mail Group Limited, trading as Royal Mail, is a British postal service and courier company. It is owned by International Distribution Services. It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and Parcelforce Worldwide (parcels) ...

, recommends letters be sent to Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ. Each Nordic country also claims Santa's workshop to be located on their territories. Norway claims he lives in Drøbak. In Denmark, he is said to live in

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

(near Uummannaq). In Sweden, the town of Mora has a theme park named " Santaworld". The national postal terminal in Tomteboda in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

receives children's letters for Santa. In

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, Korvatunturi in Lapland has long been known as Santa's home, and two theme parks,

Santa Claus Village Santa Claus Village () is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985. History The first building to be built in the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi was the Roosevelt Lodge, which was built in the 1950 ...

and Santa Park are located at the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

in the municipality of

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa's workshop Santa Claus Buildings and structures North Pole Workshops Places in legend

Santa Claus grottos and department stores

Amusement parks

Elves

Location

See also

References