It turned out that last Christmas, the average American shopper spent $451 on gifts for loved ones. European consumers spend even more on gifts. The most generous among them are the Irish, who allocate 720 euros for purchases for their loved ones. In England, where Christmas shopping has become a national tradition, each person spends 549 euros on New Year gifts. The most economical were the residents of the Netherlands, who fork out only €182 per person.
Meanwhile, not only ordinary citizens but also Father Frosts are preparing for the celebration of Christmas. For instance, recently in Lapland, northern Sweden, the V International Santa Claus Competition took place.
Thirty Christmas grandfathers from Australia, Estonia, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Finland, and Sweden flew in for the competition. They had to demonstrate their readiness for the holiday in five Christmas “sports”: climbing the chimney, handling a reindeer team, pushing a sleigh, eating oatmeal, and quickly finding the right addresses on Christmas Eve.
The reindeer race was won by Santa from Luxembourg, who also had the best sense of direction. The representative of Poland handled the oatmeal the fastest, and the Australian was the best at chimney climbing.
While Santa Clauses were competing in Lapland, their parade was taking place in Helsinki. Hundreds of children dressed in red costumes gathered on the main street of the Finnish capital. They danced, sang, and beat drums. The climax of the celebration was the appearance of the Finnish Santa Claus in the central square. From that moment, the whole country began official preparations for Christmas. Now, according to local customs, you can already put up a Christmas tree and prepare festive treats.
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