Christmas and New Year in Rovaniemi

Christmas is the most important holiday of the year in Finland, and its main day is Christmas Eve, 24 December, when families exchange presents. In Rovaniemi the holidays fall in the busiest stretch of the year, which Santa Claus Village counts from late November to early January. Visit Rovaniemi advises booking accommodation for Christmas and New Year early, as the city has no central booking system.

The holidays in 2026/27

Daylight at Christmas

Rovaniemi does not have a true polar night, but the days are very short. On 21 December 2026 the sun rises in the city centre at 11:08 and sets at 13:22, and on New Year’s Day it is up from 10:59 to 13:43. Civil twilight stretches the usable light to roughly six hours around the solstice, from about 09:16 to 15:14. Plan outdoor trips for the middle of the day and keep museums, Santa and dinner for the afternoon and evening. More on this on our page about winter light in Rovaniemi.

Santa over the holidays

Santa Claus Office in Santa Claus Village is open daily 08:00–20:00 from 30 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and its schedule lists no exceptions for the holidays. Christmas House Santa Claus in the village stays open even longer on 24 and 25 December, from 08:00 to 22:00. Meetings in Santa Claus Office cannot be booked, and in these weeks the office recommends arriving earlier in the day so you get in on the same day. Santa’s Main Post Office is open daily 09:00–20:00 from 1 December to 6 January, and letters dropped into its red post box are held and sent out for Christmas.

The season peaks on 23 December, when Santa sets off from the village on his journey around the world, with live music and a live stream. Visit Rovaniemi had not yet published the 2026 programme in October. In 2025 the celebration started at 19:00, and two buses shuttled between Korkalonkatu 33 in the city centre and the village from 17:30 to 21:00.

Outside the village, SantaPark is open 09:00–18:00 every day from 24 to 31 December, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

What is open over the holidays

For shopping, Visit Rovaniemi gives normal hours for food and department stores as 08:00–21:00 on weekdays and 09:00–21:00 at weekends, but most shops have limited hours on public holidays, and InfoFinland notes that many close at Christmas. Buy what you need for the holidays by 23 December. Restaurants also change their hours over Christmas, and Visit Rovaniemi recommends reserving a table well in advance if you have a particular place in mind.

Alcohol over the holidays

Fermented drinks above 8 per cent and other alcoholic drinks above 5.5 per cent are sold only at Alko, the state-owned chain, apart from microbrewery beers and farm wines. Supermarkets may sell fermented drinks such as beer, cider and wine up to 8 per cent and other alcoholic drinks up to 5.5 per cent. You must be 18 to buy drinks up to 22 per cent and 20 for anything stronger, and Alko checks the age of everyone who looks younger than 30.

Since a change in the law in 2026, Alko may open from 09:00 to 21:00 on any day of the year. For this season it has announced that all stores are open until 13:00 on Christmas Eve and until at least 18:00 on New Year’s Eve. The store in the city centre, Rovaniemi keskusta, is one of those that open on Sundays and also opens on 6 December, 26 December, 1 January and 6 January. Christmas Day is not mentioned in the announcement.

Christmas markets, concerts and theatre

The one market with confirmed 2026 dates is the Lions Club Rovaniemi/Napapiiri Traditional Christmas Market on Saturday and Sunday, 5 and 6 December 2026, 10:00–16:00, at Santasport Lapland Sports Institute, Hiihtomajantie 2. Entry is free, and the stalls sell pastries, handicrafts, natural products, ornaments and jewellery, with most of the proceeds going to local charity. In 2024 a traditional market also ran in the Revontuli shopping centre from 3 to 31 December; its 2026 dates had not been announced by mid-October.

Visit Rovaniemi’s Christmas list for 2026 includes Raskasta Joulua (Heavy Christmas) at Lappi Areena on 20 November, a Kari Tapio Christmas concert in Rovaniemi Church on 3 December and a Christmas Carol Singalong at Korundi on 11 and 12 December. Rovaniemi Theatre stages “A Christmas Carol” for the last time from 25 November to 22 December 2026, with English subtitles that are only visible from rows 6 to 14.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve in Finland comes with fireworks: displays are organised, and rockets are sold in shops. Private rockets may only be set off on New Year’s Eve between 18:00 and 02:00, anyone lighting them must wear protective eyewear, and only people aged 18 or over may handle them. In 2024/25 the city of Rovaniemi held its midnight fireworks by the Kemijoki river, with a New Year’s reception for families at 17:00 on the plaza in front of Lappia Hall and a midnight mass at 23:00 in Rovaniemi Church. The programme for 2026/27 had not been published in October 2026, so look at Visit Rovaniemi’s weekly events list in late December. Commercial parties are already listed, among them a New Year party at the Arctic SnowHotel.

Whatever you do, watch from the bank and not from the frozen river. The city of Rovaniemi warns that the ice in the centre, between the Jätkänkynttilä bridge and the railway bridge, is dangerous throughout the winter because of the strong current, and footprints on it do not mean it will hold you.