Successful Meetings - December 2007 - (Page 59)

What’s extra on Read Santa’s letter to Successful Meetings’ managing editor Suzie Amer, “Suzie, My Child,” and more at www.mimegasite.com. address. “He receives about 800,000 letters in a year from all over the world,” claims Finland’s Muller. “What other proof does one need?” But Greenland’s Eged derides this, pointing to Nuuk, Greenland’s capital city and the site of the world’s largest mailbox—a big, tall, bright-red receptacle just around the corner from Santa’s Post Office. It is here, the Greenlanders say, that Santa and his elves come on December 24 to collect all the children’s wishes before embarking on their grand errand. This is where the United States Postal Service jumps in and stakes its own claim. According to Sue Brennan, spokesperson for USPS, “We have a North Pole Post Office in Alaska, and they get inundated beginning this time of year until the end of December.” We also have a remailing program, in which you put your holiday greeting cards (complete with addresses and postage) into a larger envelope and send the whole package to the station and they postmark your stamps from the North Pole.” Prior to emptying the Nuuk mailbox, Santa spends the month in New York City, at Macy’s (which was also his mail drop in Miracle). In fact, the Big Apple may also lay claim to Santa Claus, at least as he is known today. “I suppose it could be said that Clement Clark Moore and Thomas Nast, both New Yorkers, created the current popular vision of Santa Claus with ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ ” says Sarah Henry, deputy director and chief curator for the Museum of the City of New York. According to “Santa Tim” Connaghan, founder of the North Pole, CA-based Kringle Group LLC, “In 1809, Washington Irving wrote the Knickerbocker’s History of New York. In this book he helped to meld the many international images and customs of St. Nicholas [also know as Sint Nicklaus to the New Amsterdamers] into one person.” Santa Tim, who is affiliated with but not a member of the Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas (AORBS)—which is holding the Discover Santa ’08 Conference in Overland Park, KS, this coming summer— operates the International University of Santa Claus (IUSC, also known as School4Santa), a special training program that offers one- and two-day workshops for Santas, Mrs. Clauses, and those interested in the work and business of Santa. “Over 1,200 have attended our Rovaniemi. I mean, every day? Everybody knows that Santa loves his cold on the real North Pole, so this imposter that they’ve dragged into Finland is clearly some cheap knockoff pulled in to capitalize on the above-mentioned bluff that Santa is actually living in Finland. In Finland? Give me a break. I must laugh. Ha ha.” Eged proffers a letter from Santa, which affirms, “[I live] on the North Pole, which is still a part of Greenland, despite humans’ nowadays fight over who it belongs to.” Greenland’s claim is bolstered by Denmark, of which it has been an autonomous part since 1953. This year, Copenhagen played host to the 50th World Santa Congress, attended by 200 international Santas—with the exception of the Finnish Santa, who boycotts the conference (since his one-time appearance resulted in a fracas). “All kinds of copies of Santa go there,” says Muller. “The real Santa from Finland never goes. Why should he?” When seeking to establish their respective claims, Finland and Greenland offer the evidence—made famous by the film, Miracle on 34th Street—of a delivery SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS DECEMBER 2007 mimegasite.com 59 http://mimegasite.com http://www.mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - December 2007

Successful Meetings - December 2007 Contents Editor's Note Special Report Research Industry Trends 2008 Meeting Events Planner Spotlight Websites of the Month Mouth for Sale Technology Talk Food & Beverage Pre-Event On Site Pre-Event Tools of the Trade Goodbye, Booth Babes Five Tips to Improve Your Golf Events When Crime Pays Office for Hire More Miles for Your Money Places & Spaces South Florida Biloxi / Mississippi Gulf Coast Fort Worth Monterey Beijing Gurus Special Supplement: Hawaii Island-by-Island Guide

Successful Meetings - December 2007

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