In some towns , Christmas is all year - orotund . From Santa Claus , Indiana , to Bethlehem , Wales , here are nine places where it ’s December 25 365 days a class .
1. Santa Claus, Indiana
There are actuallyseveral placesin the U.S. named after St. Nick , but only one of them is famous for the Santa Claus postmark . That’sSanta Claus , Indiana , a city of just under 2500 people located in the southwest portion of the state . When settler created the town in the mid-1800s , they were going to name it Santa Fe — but since another Indiana Ithiel Town already had that name , when the residents forgather one Christmas Eve to decide upon its lasting sobriquet , theywent withthe seasonally appropriate Santa Claus . Now , the citycalls itself“America ’s Christmas Hometown ” and vaunt Yuletide magnet like the Santa Claus Museum and Village , a hotel call Santa ’s Lodge , the Santa Claus Christmas Store , andSanta ’s Candy Castle , which claims the deed of conveyance of the firstthemed attractionin the U.S. Not to mention all the letter to Santa its billet spot receive each December .
2. Barra De Navidad, Mexico
Barra de Navidad , Jalisco , a beach township on Mexico ’s Pacific coast , is located along a sand bar — hence its name , which means Christmas Sandbar . The mellowed township of about 5000 masses was once a hub for Spanish ship . It was originally namedPuerto de Navidadbecause the first Spanish explorers who landed there in the 1500s arrived on Christmas Day . The name was changed to Barra de Navidad once the townspeople on the sandbar was build . Now , it ’s a fishing village and democratic tourist finish whose picturesque beaches make it a perfect late - December getaway for those trying to flee cold conditions .
3. Christmas, Michigan
Christmas , Michigan , home to just 400 residents , was name for the vacation endowment factory once located there . The town in Michigan ’s Upper Peninsula is now a popular refreshment area for snowmobile aficionados , and it look at full advantage of its Christmas bequest . With roadside Santa statues and its Santa - theme stores and sign , Christmaswill never allow you forget which holiday it ’s named after .
4. Natal, Brazil
Natal , which means " Christmas " in Portuguese , is a state capital on the eastmost tip of Brazil , and serves as South America ’s close stop to Africa . build just outside a 16th - one C Lusitanian fort holler the Fortress of the Three Wise Men ( also called the Three Kings Fortress ) , the citywas foundedon December 25 , 1599 . It has since become a democratic beach destination for Brazilian tourists .
5. North Pole, Oklahoma
Of all the places to name after the North Pole , you would n’t inevitably pluck a midget town in southeastern Oklahoma . resident of the rural region are n’t sure how an Oklahoma town got an Arctic name . allot toNewsOK , the late owner of the local North Pole Grocery thought it might have to do with the area being cold than other division of the county , while other house physician speculate that it could have been named for its out - of - the - way emplacement , which might seem as far away as the North Pole for travelers .
6. Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
The East Flanders city of Sint - Niklaas get its name from the Christian church founded there in the early thirteenth century , not the jolly bearer of Christmas present , but the townsfolk definitely fuck how to appreciate Santa Claus — or rather , his precursor , Sinterklaas ( Saint Nicholas ) . There ’s a statue of the holiday pattern place outside the city antechamber twelvemonth - round , and between November 12 and December 6 ( Saint Nicholas ’s Day ) , the metropolis ’s fine arts museum turns into theHuis van de Sint , or the “ House of the Saint , ” where child can tour Sinterklaas ’s house and meet the openhanded guy himself . Sinterklaas comes tovisit the childrenof Sint - Niklaas on the weekend prior to December 6 , and local simple schools get a three - day weekend so that small fry can play with their new toys afterward .
7. Noel, Missouri
The Ithiel Town of Noel was n’t distinguish after Christmas — the designationoriginally referredto local lumbermill owners C.W. and W.J. Noel — but it has sure embraced the connexion . In the thirties , Noel ’s post office began tender a Christmaspostmark avail , stamp board and letters sent through the town with a Christmas - themed postmark that says “ The Christmas City in the Ozark Vacation Land . ” Each year , the post role receives thousands of pieces of mail from people all around the humankind asking for these stamp , and the local postmaster has to employ a squad of military volunteer to process them all in time for the holiday .
8. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
ThisPennsylvania townowes the origin of its name to Christmas Eve . In 1741 , a mathematical group of Moravians — a Protestant denomination founded in the 1400s — settled near the banks of Pennsylvania ’s Lehigh River . These settlers had a supporter , the German counting Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf , and when he visited on Christmas Eve , 1741 , he glorify that the Ithiel Town would be named Bethlehem . In 1937 , Bethlehem ’s chamber of commerce decided to make the most of the name , declare it America’sChristmas City . It ’s now known for its across-the-board yearly Christmas marketplace .
9. Bethlehem, Wales
JOHN FINCH , Geograph//CC BY - SA 2.0
Pennsylvania is n’t the only position to dwell title to the Bethlehem name . Its Welsh compatriot , though , owe even more to the Christmas disembodied spirit . Bethlehem , Wales is a lilliputian village that boasted just 150 hoi polloi in 2012 . It ’s so small , in fact , that in the 1980s , its only stake office got shut down by budget cut . But the high need for the Bethlehem postmarkforced itto reopenin 2002 . Though it ’s typically only open a few minute a week , for make do with the high mass of mail people charge in during the Christmas time of year the post spot has retentive hours during the holidays .
