IMPERIA |
october-november-december 2019
20
(Above)
Santa Claus
village,
Lapland,
Finland.
(Below right)
A Montreal
street
decorated
during
Christmas.
e l a n
of Christmas) at 6.00pm and the service
finishes about 3.00am on Christmas Day,
making it one of the longest and yes, most
fascinating Christmas services! This is
followed by a traditional Christmas feast that
includes a thick stew called wat, which can
be made with meat, vegetables and eggs.
The stew is eaten with a roll of injera, a flat
fermented bread made from an indigenous
Ethiopian grain called teff.
Celebrating with
Santa
Rovaniemi, Finland
There is probably no other place in the
world than Rovaniemi, Finland, to spend
the ultimate Christmas Day of your life. For
it is this snow-blanketed, tiny town, neatly
tucked away in the far north of the country’s
Lapland that is considered the ‘Official
Hometown of Santa Claus’. A month before
Christmas, the festivities are put into full
throttle here as Santa Claus declares the
Christmas season open in Santa Claus
Village. Another highlight of the year is
December 23rd, when Santa departs on his
mission to hand out presents to children all
around the globe. And not to forget good
old Rudolf, for Rovaniemi is also home to
countless reindeer that one can interact
and even go on a sledge ride with. For
those travelling with children, SantaPark
is a must-visit. It is at this underground
toy factory where Santa’s elves create
presents for children around the world.
It’s a wonderful place for children to
explore and get in the spirit of Christmas
in Lapland.
Joyeaux Noël
Montreal, Canada
Infused with a deliciously French
flavour, given the city’s deep French
connection, Christmas in Montreal is
simply called ‘Noël’. It begins with the
Défilé du Père Noël, aka the Montreal
Santa Claus Parade that has been a
tradition since 1925 with about 15 to 20
floats proceeding along the downtown
artery and top shopping destination, Ste.
Catherine Street, from Fort to St. Urbain.
Another beautiful way that Christmas
is celebrated here is with the Montreal
Christmas Parade (Marche de Noël aux
flambeaux) where one can join in the
candlelight procession with over 10,000
other people to celebrate the season
along with Christmas carolers, who walk
along the route from the city’s L’Avenue
du Mont-Royal. As for those all-important
Yuletide treats, you can indulge in an
array of goodies like the ‘Bûche de Noël’
Yule log, pork pies called tourtières and
yummy gruyère gougères, bursting with
the goodness of cheese.
