Most people don’t realize it, but Santa’s village team of elf engineers at the North Pole have come up with some creative energy solutions. Santa and Mrs. Claus, as we know, are very caring and kind, so of course, it’s only natural they would want to help everyone on the planet year-round. The energy elves have been quite busy in recent years installing windmills that generate electricity for the toy workshop and cabins all around the village.
Since Santa’s Christmas sleigh mainly runs on magic, they don’t use fuels like we do in our vehicles to power up their Christmas ride. Santa has those amazing reindeer (also very magical) who fly like the wind, and the only ‘fuel’ they need is the food they eat, like lots of sweet hay, plenty of carrots, apples and good clean water to drink.
Did you know that the sun is always above the horizon at the North Pole in the summer and below the horizon there in the winter? That region experiences up to 24 hours of sunlight in the summer and 24 hours of darkness in the winter. So, I bet you can guess, solar power isn’t the best solution for people living in the Arctic Circle. Can you imagine no daylight here where we live in B.C. for months? It must just seem normal for the people who live in darkness for so many months of the year and then to have the sun ‘turn on’ just like someone flipping a light switch in your house and during those months, have sunlight during the day and night! Wowzers! Pretty interesting to think about how other parts of the world live differently than we do.
Did you know the Arctic is regarded as a leader in renewable energy development and arctic countries like Iceland and Norway source 100 per cent of their energy for power and heating from renewable resources?
Even though solar energy might not be used much in the Arctic or at the North Pole, especially in winter, there are many other options being explored and tried in the Arctic such as hydropower, wind, solar, biomass, marine hydrokinetic or geothermal energy.
What do you imagine living at the North Pole in Santa’s village would be like? I like to imagine there is a lot of Christmas music floating through the workshop as the elves work together filling up the big sleigh, and there must be yummy cookies, hot chocolate with marshmallows and delicious oranges, apples, carrot sticks and of course, don’t forget the fudge and candy canes. I think it must be like one big happy family there all year long with so much laughter, singing and Christmas smells that tickle your nose down to your toes with sparkling lights everywhere. If I ever had the chance to visit I’d really like to feel the reindeer’s beautiful velvety antlers - wouldn’t you?
I was just emailing with one of Santa’s elves the other day asking some questions that kids in Canada might be interested in having answers to as they begin to send their letters and emails off to Santa and Mrs. Claus and I found a few things you and your kids might want to know.
Santa’s mailing address via Canada Post is:
Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada.
No stamps are required to mail a letter to Santa within Canada. The elf emailed me back to advise it is a good idea to mail your letter to Santa, Mrs. Claus or Rudolph as soon as possible.
