PLACES AROUND THE WORLD WORTH VISITING DURING CHRISTMAS

1) SANTA LAND (Rovaniemi)

There is no better place than the Santa land in Rovaniemi in Finland to celebrate the Christmas. Santa Claus’ original home lies in the mysterious Korvatunturi (“Ear Fell”) in Finnish Lapland. Since the exact location is a secret only known to a chosen few, he decided to establish an office in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, in 1985. Rovaniemi received the status of the Official Hometown of Santa Claus in 2010.Santa Claus spends his time at the Santa Claus Village every day of the year to take care of his mission in life; to enhance the well being of children and the kindness of grown-ups, as well as spreading the message love and goodwill of Christmas Spirit throughout the globe.

Santa Village

A month before Christmas, the eyes of the world turn to Rovaniemi as Santa Claus declares the Christmas season open in Santa Claus Village. It also marks the start of the busy season in Rovaniemi, as numerous visitors are keen to experience the true magic of Christmas in the Official Hometown of Santa Claus. Another highlight of the year is December 23rd, when Santa departs on his mission to hand out presents to children all around the globe.

Santa Claus Village is open every day of the year, and getting there is easy with local bus number 8 that leaves hourly from Rovaniemi city centre. Alternatives include taxi, car or walking – the distance is eight kilometres and just 3 kilometres from the airport.

The main building of Santa Claus Holiday Village or “Christmas House” hosts unique Christmas-theme exhibition and a photography service with Santa Claus. The exhibition includes Finnish Christmas, Christmas traditions and Lapland’s Santa Claus, “Joulupukki”. Most recognized Christmas traditions around the World is another popular exhibition. At Christmas House one gets the opportunity to meet Santa Claus, and take pictures with him.

Holiday Village

The stores of the Santa Claus Village are open every day. The range of products includes local handicrafts from artisans that have been working for decades in Rovaniemi. Affordable giftware for international shoppers and top Finnish design products can be found from dozens of different giftware boutiques.

Reaching Rovaniemi: The Rovaniemi is well connected by Air from Finnish capital of Helsinki.  The ground distance between Helsinki and Rovaniemi is about 810 kilometres and it takes about one hour to reach by Air. Finnair, Blue air and Norwegian have regular flights. Another alternative is to travel by train. VR, the national railway company, operates several trains a day. VR also offers a night train option between Helsinki and Rovaniemi. Sleeping-cars ensure that passengers have comfortable overnight journeys. Duration of the train trip varies from nine hours up to thirteen hours. Lapland express- a high speed train takes about 8 hours to reach Rovaniemi from Helsinki.It is also possible to travel to Rovaniemi by road by car or long distance buses. The E4 highway leads directly from Helsinki to Rovaniemi. The distance between is about 800 kilometres and it takes 10–12 hours to drive to Rovaniemi.

Stay in Rovaniemi: The Rovaniemi region offers quite the range of accommodation: in the city centre, there are several hotels, guesthouses and a hostel. The Ounasvaara and Santa Claus Village resorts boast hotels, glass igloos, holiday villages, B&B’s and more.From December to March, you can even sleep in a snow hotel or a snow igloo – a genuine Arctic experience! Individual cottages and other small-scale accommodation can be found in the villages around the city.

2) BETHLEHEM

Visiting Bethlehem during Christmas would be anyone’s dream. The thought of being at the birthplace of Jesus and that too on his birthday is an amazing feeling. Christmas festivities in Bethlehem are both festive and spiritual. The festive part includes decorated streets, illuminations, special Christmas markets, street plays and carols everywhere.  The spiritual part includes special mass and processions led by many different Christian denominations, including Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox, Ethiopian, Armenian and more.Most Christmas processions pass through Manger Square, the plaza outside the Basilica of the Nativity, which stands on the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Catholic services take place in St. Catherine's Church and Protestants often hold services at the Shepherds' Fields. Star street is another place where much of the activities take place.Bethlehem Christmas celebrations stretch for a long period, as different denominations celebrate Christmas on different days. Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25; Greek, Syrian and other Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6; and Armenian Christians celebrate Christmas on January 18.

Reaching Bethlehem from Jerusalem: The municipality of Jerusalem offers FREE buses to Bethlehem for Christmas. The buses drop visitors to Rachel's Tomb with a view to attending midnight mass. The last bus (route 163) leaves Jerusalem at 18:57, arriving Rachel's Tomb at 19:55. It’s advised to check timings and route number as they may vary. There are also special Christmas tours operated by private tour operators, which include many more sightseeing in and around Jerusalem and Bethlehem.

3) SAN FERNANDO PHILIPPINES:

Plan visiting San Fernando –the Christmas capital of Philippines for the great Lantern festival, if you happen to be in Philippines in December.

Location: San Fernando, Pampanga is about 70 kms from Manila-the capital of Philippines. The competition is held at Robinson’s Star mills in the San Fernando City.  Robinson’s Star mills is very near the San Fernando Toll gate of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).  From Manila, one can take a bus bound to Pampanga or Bataan from Cubao, Monumento-Caloocan or Pasay.  Make sure to ask the conductor if the bus makes a stop at SM Pampanga.  SM Pampanga is right across Robinson’s Star mills. The ride to San Fernando costs about 120 PHP each and is about 75 minutes long.

The Lantern festival: All villages participate in the festival, in which elaborate and beautiful lanterns are made. The parol of star lantern is perhaps the paramount Filipino Christmas symbol. The word parol derives from the Spanish farol, meaning lantern or light. Filipinos place much significance on the symbolism of light, the star regarded as a fount of light and a sign of hope in the predominantly Christian country in Asia. “Ligligan Parul” (Lantern Competition) was said to have started in San Fernando in the year 1904Originally these lanterns were built by using Japanese origami paper and lit by candle. But now a days it’s very elaborate and illuminated by lights.

Other attractions in San Fernando:. If time permits visit the famous Crucifixion site in barangay san Pedro cutud which is about 16 kilometres from Robinson’s starmills. The site is where enactment of crucifixion is done on good Friday. People crucify themselves in the same manner as Jesus was crucifies.

4) SINGAPORE

You might not get real snow or reindeers, but Christmas in Singapore is as big as any other celebration during the year. Christmas in Singapore is a big celebration that gives the locals another excuse to do what they love most: eat and shop. Christmas spreads and Yuletide menus pop up at restaurants across the island, giving a festive twist to an already impressive dining scene.

The shopping districts of Orchard Road and Marina Bay explode in a shower of light, while adjoining malls and shopping centres put on extended hours and special deals to attract sightseeing tourists.

The Orchard Road is spectacularly lit up every December to ramp up the festive mood, and serves as a blazing reminder to hit the malls. The Orchard Road light-up - a spectacular street-length light show - stretches about two miles down from Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura. Working with the theme “Spread the Joy”, the light-up works revered Christmas iconography – reindeer and glittering stars among them – into the light-up's overhangs, sidewalks and Christmas trees, bathing the street in blue, turquoise and sapphire light.

Glimpse of Orchard Road Christmas

Key Orchard Road mall ION Orchard adds its own Christmas cheer with a 20-meter-tall Christmas Tree with over 2,000 custom-designed tree ornaments provided by renowned jeweler Tiffany & Co. Visitors can actually walk inside the tree and interact with the interior, crafted to look like the New York skyline at night!

Reaching Orchard Road : The Orchard area is most accessible via MRT; disembark at the Orchard MRT Station (NS22).

The countdown party at Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay has become the highlight of the year-end festive calendar. Join with thousands of others to bring in the New Year with music, live performances and the one of the best fireworks shows in Asia.

The Gardens by the Bay's climate-controlled Flower Dome becomes a setting for floral Christmas cheer, putting Christmas plants like amaryllis, Christmas roses and poinsettias at work in charming Yuletide tableaux.The Merry Medley Floral Display lasts from November 11 to January 5, and shows off the Christmas experience from a decidedly plant-based perspective.Live Christmas trees – evergreen conifers that thrive in the Dome – stand in the background of sculptures that evoke the season, including ballerinas in glass globes; angelic choirs; and nutcracker soldiers.The Dome turns even more gorgeous as night comes on, with Italian Luminarie lights transforming the Flower Dome's interior into a magical Christmas wonderland.

Reaching Marina Bay/Garden by the Bay : Alight at Bayfront MRT Station and take exit B and follow the underground linkway. Exit and cross the Draconfly bridge or Meadow bridge into the Gardens by Bay. Alternately, alight at  Tanjung Pagar MRT Station (EW15).Take Exit C and head towards bus stop no. 03223 located at International Plaza, Anson Road. Hop onto bus no. 400 and alight at bus stop no. 03371 along Marina Gardens Drive.

5) Santa Claus, Indiana

Santa Claus is a town in southwestern Indiana. It's known for its Christmas theme. Santa Claus Museum & Village is home to the 1880 Santa Claus Church, Santa Claus Post Office and a tall, 1935 Santa Claus statue. The museum traces local history and the origin of the town's name. Holiday World & Splashin' Safari offers themed roller coasters and a water park. Jim Yellig Park has sports fields, trails and a playground.

Christmas is a year-round occasion in this town of fewer than 3,000 residents. Santa Claus, Indiana, gets thousands of letters a year from children trying to reach St. Nick himself. A group of volunteers called Santa's Elves was set up in the mid-1930s to reply to each letter. The Land of Lights display is a 1.2-mile drive around the Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort.Among various Christmas-themed events, Santa hosts buffet dinners at Santa's Lodge the first three weekends in December.

SCENIC BHUTAN : PHUENTSHOLING

Phuentsholing is the Indo-Bhutan border town and a thriving commercial centre of Bhutan. Being the border town, it serves as a convenient entry/exit point for Bhutan and an important link to the Indian states of west Bengal, Sikkim and Assam. The town has cosmopolitan character with people belonging to various ethnic group from India, Bhutan, and Nepal.

Hasimara, in India is the nearest train station to reach Phuentsholing. From Hasimara it takes about 30 minutes to reach Phuentsholing by Bus. Jaigaon is the border town on Indian side. There are plenty of Budget hotels there in case on decides to halt there. Since I spent two years in Hasimara, I had plenty of opportunities to visit Phuentsholing.

Not much to see for the tourists in Phuentsholing but the town offers a neat ,clean and scenic environment away from the hustle and bustle of the big cities. The town is safe and could also be covered over by foot. Enjoying the sight of picturesque Torsa river and walking through the clouds on a hill is a sheer experience of cool , calm and peaceful surroundings of Phuentsholing . Adding to the serenity is the majestic sound of the bells ringing at one of the nearest Gompha.

Bhutan Gate : Depicting traditional Bhutanese architecture, Bhutan Gate is the main gateway for entry from India and is one of the most photographed attractions, the gate demarcates the Bhutanese and the Indian territory with adjoining cities, Jaigaon and Phuentsholing. The gate has a catching architecture.

Zangtho Pelri Lhakhang is small temple of attraction in the city and is the heaven of Guru Rinpoche. The temple houses eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche and paintings of Buddha’s life. The temple also houses the statues of eight Bodhisattavas and statues of Avalokiteswar and Sharbdrung Ngawang Namgyal .The main statue of Amitabh is on the top floor of the temple.

Kharbandi  Goemba :   Founded in 1967 by Royal Grand Mother, Ashi Phuntsho Choedron and situated at the altitude of 400m, this beautiful monastery contains paintings on the life of Buddha, statues of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and Guru Rinpoche. From the monastery garden there is a fascinating view of Phuentsholing town and surrounding plains. According to legend, an Indian pilgrim couple visited this place and prayed for a child. The wish was granted, and since then, couples have been visiting this place in hopes of a better future.

Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre:The Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre is undisputedly one of the most popular places to visit in Phuentsholing .. With various species of crocodiles and alligators, it’s the place to be if you’re an animal lover.

The Chhukha Hydropower project is Bhutan’s oldest mega power project. Out of the country’s several major river basins, the Wangchhu, which uses the discharges of Thimphu, Paro and Haa valleys, was chosen as the project site as it offered the best scope for constructing the first power project due to the existence of road links and other infrastructures. If time permits one can visit the project , which has a good scenery.

Tashi: Tashi is one of the biggest commercial groups in Bhutan. Tashi building in Phuentsholin is the prime shopping and departmental store in the heart of the city. One can find virtually everything here. So if you don’t have much time at disposal then this is the good place to do shopping.