圣诞老人的故乡

更新时间：2023-08-09 16:08:01 阅读量： IT计算机文档下载

说明：文章内容仅供预览，部分内容可能不全。下载后的文档，内容与下面显示的完全一致。下载之前请确认下面内容是否您想要的，是否完整无缺。

圣诞老人的故乡

Visiting Santa Claus in Finland

ANCHOR

And it's not a Christmas carol, but Santa Claus that draws people to Finland. Finland's YLE takes us to the town in the Arctic Circle that's a hotspot1 during the Christmas season.

CORRESPONDENT

This is the Arctic Circle, specifically the outskirts2 of a town called Rovaniemi, which used to be virtually unknown outside Finland. Nowadays, though, Husky sleighs3 aren't the only way to get here. This bit of half-wild Lapland has its own international airport, with dozens of planes in and out everyday and direct flights from places like London, Budapest and Milan.

This time of year it's cold and dark and windy in the Arctic Circle, but that doesn't keep some half a million visitors from coming every year. And while the Arctic safaris4 and the wildlife are certainly very popular, there's no denying that the main attraction is the big man himself.

That's right, Santa Clause, Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Papa Natali. These are his international office headquarters. The whole town seems to revolve around Santa's office. In December, the post office handles 32,000 letter a day from nearly 200 countries. Nearby, you can even take Santa's reindeer5 out for a spin. And then there's Santa Park and a dozen businesses that bear his name. But there's no competing with the surprisingly genuine warmth of this man, who sees himself less an icon of Christianity than a universal ambassador6 of goodwill.

SANTA CLAUS

There are things that go and should go, you know, across and over and beyond all boundaries whether they are geographical or cultural. You know, that is, love thy neighbour, the children.

CORRESPONDENT

And while Santa Claus' office has an array of the requisite souvenir7 shops, that's not what sticks in the minds of both children and adults here. What do you think about finally meeting Santa Claus, Father Christmas?

THOMAS SEALE, BRITISH TOURIST

Really great. Really, really great.

MARGARET BRAZENDALE, BRITISH TOURIST

They still believe in Father Christmas and to come here and to see him. It just make it real for them and makes it real for me as well. I enjoy every minute of it.

CORRESPONDENT

And what might Santa Claus want for Christmas?

圣诞老人的故乡

SANTA CLAUS

I want all the children to be happy, and that is very difficult, unfortunately. I hope that people who have the power in this world, that they would realize that children should get what they deserve, which unfortunately doesn't happen all around the world, but we're working on it.

CORRESPONDENT

Reporting from Santa's Office in the Arctic Circle, this is Aira Verharskari of YLE for CNN World Report.

圣诞老人的故乡

主播

吸引人们到芬兰的不是圣诞颂歌、而是圣诞老人。芬兰的YLE带我们来到位于北极圈的这座小镇，它是圣诞节期间的热点。

记者

这里是北极圈，确切地说，这是罗瓦涅米镇的边界，过去这里并不为芬兰以外的人所知晓。今天，爱斯基摩雪橇已不是到达这里的唯一方式。这个位于半无人区的拉普兰的小地方有自己的国际机场，每天都有几十架次飞机进进出出，可以直飞伦敦、布达佩斯和米兰等地。

在一年中的这个季节，北极圈内寒冷、黑暗、多风，但这并不能阻止每年大约50万游客的造访。尽管北极探险和野生动植物的确大受欢迎，但不能否认主要的吸引力还在于这个大人物自己。

是的，他就是圣诞老人。这是他的国际办公总部。全镇似乎都是以圣诞老人办公室为中心在忙碌。12月，邮局每天要处理来自将近200个国家的3万2千封信件。你甚至可以牵着圣诞老人的驯鹿去附近兜风。这儿有圣诞老人公园，还有许多以他的名字命名的商行，但它们都无法与圣诞老人惊人的热心肠相媲美。他更愿意把自己看成是世界亲善大使，而不是基督教的偶像。

圣诞老人

你知道，有许多事情超越并且也应该超越所有的界线，不管是地域界线还是文化界线。你知道，那就是爱你的邻居，爱你的孩子。

记者

在圣诞老人的办公室有一排必要的纪念品商店，但它们并不是到达此处的孩子和大人心里所想往的东西。

最终得以与圣诞老人，圣诞之父相见，你有什么感觉？

托马斯·西尔，英国游客

圣诞老人的故乡

真得很棒。真地，真得很棒。

玛格丽特·布拉曾戴尔，英国游客

他们仍旧相信圣诞之父，并来此看望他。他们终于亲眼看到他了，我也一样。我享受在这儿的每一刻。

记者

那么圣诞老人在圣诞节有什么愿望呢？