Santa Claus Prepares for Global Gift Giving

From CRIENGLISH.com

Santa Claus[圣诞老人] and his 'elves'[小精灵] are busy making their final preparations for Christmas Eve[圣诞节前夕] at Santa Claus Village[圣诞老人村] in Lapland[拉普兰（斯堪的纳维亚半岛的最北端地区）].

Santa is confident they'll have their work done in time.

"Huh, they're going very well, everything is on schedule[按时；按照预定时间]. Christmas of course is - I always say this that - it's such a good thing, Christmas Eve[圣诞节前夕;平安夜] is always 24 December. So, it's very easy to plan ahead[提前计划]."

Santa Claus Village[圣诞老人村] is located in the Arctic Circle[北极圈], around eight kilometres north of Rovaniemi, the capital of Finland's Lapland.

(注:坐落于芬兰北部北极圈以内的罗瓦涅米乃是世界公认的圣诞老人的故乡。)

Around 300,000 people visit the village every year to meet Santa, play in the snow, and get in the festive spirit.

Student Audrey Morin is visiting Santa Claus Village[圣诞老人村] from Auxerre[欧塞尔] in France.

She says it's a magical experience[神奇的经历;充满魔法的经历].

"You have the feeling to be in a different world, a different planet. It's like you have a magical atmosphere[神秘的气氛;奇幻的氛围]. You come here and you are amazed by all the lights and all the children playing, it's like really nice to be here."

It's an out-of-this-world[脱离现实的，异想天开的] experience for Gavin Holcombe and his kids.

Gavin says they're normally accustomed to[习惯于] beachside festive fun[海滨节日乐趣] in their hometown of Brisbane, Australia.

"We normally spend our Christmas at the beach out swimming in the surf, so being here in the snow is really different for us. It's a complete contrast to[鲜明对比] what our normal Christmases would be like in Australia[澳大利亚], where it's really quite hot, it's normally about 35 or 36 degrees (Celsius) this time of year."

Part of the experience of visiting Santa Claus Village[圣诞老人村] is getting to meet the big guy himself.

He says he's seen adults reduced to tears[伤心落泪] and even tell him it's a "childhood dream come true[儿时梦想成真]."

"They are amazed, surprised, some a little shy, many are very, very enthusiastic[ɪn,θjuːzɪ'æstɪk; en-][热情的；热心的；狂热的] - they come like running and; 'Ah Santa' - and also the adults, it's the same with the adults."

For those who can't meet Santa Claus[圣诞老人] in person, there's always old-fashioned[老式的] mail to get in contact.

In the village's nearby post office[邮局], Santa's 'elves' are busy sorting through thousands of letters sent from all around the world.

The post office[邮局] says Santa Claus[圣诞老人] receives around half a million letters every Christmas from around 200 different countries.

This year, the festive posts are coming from Asia, Poland, Italy and Great Britain. A popular request is for toys from the winter-themed animated[活生生的；活泼的；愉快的] Disney film 'Frozen.'

Santa says many of the letters he receives also include details of the children's home lives:

"They write about their life, their pets, their family and sometimes sad things, if the parents are divorced. but mostly it's good things, it's about nice things happening and nice wishes and things like that."

With all the Christmas letters read and presents packed, Santa heads to the snow-covered[被雪覆盖的] forest to greet his trusty reindeer['rendɪr][圣诞驯鹿], Rudolph. He laughs as he rides off on his sleigh[sle][雪橇].

For CRI, I'm Tu Yun.