Exhibition "Letters to Santa – Children’s Art and Adults’ Science about Santa Claus" at Oulu Central Library Saari

Written mainly by children, but also by parents, grandparents, siblings, and school classes, the letters offer unique insights into everyday life, social change, cultural diversity, languages, wishes, fashions, and economic circumstances. Many combine text and images, reflecting their time and place of origin.

For about three years, an interdisciplinary Finnish-German research team has been cataloguing and analyzing this largely unexplored collection. This exhibition presents selected letters from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from the past 30 years, revealing changing hopes, wishes, trends, and cultures. The exhibition presents selected letters to Santa Claus and findings from the research. At the opening, short talks offer further perspectives, providing background on the project and exploring topics related to language, letters and Santa Claus in greater depth.

Opening of the exhibition on Tuesday, 27 October at 4:30 PM

The opening of the Exhibition "Letters to Santa – Children’s Art and Adults’ Science about Santa Claus" will be celebrated on 27 October from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM at Oulu Central Library Saari. The event is open to everyone.

At the exhibition opening, researchers will give short presentations in German, with interpretation provided in Finnish. Welcome!

Sandra Reimann (Universität Oulu): „Briefe an den Weihnachtsmann als Forschungsprojekt“

Michael Rießler (Universität Joensuu): „Die Weihnachtsmannbriefe als Korpus“

Marlene Zöhrer (PH Steiermark, Graz/Österreich): „Liebe Lesende! Erzählen von und in Briefen“

Katharina Kunter (Universität Helsinki): „Der Weihnachtsmann - wo kommt er her, wo will er hin?“

Marjo Ohtamaa (Universität Oulu): „Schwedischsprachige Briefe an den Weihnachtsmann als Fenster zum frühen Schriftspracherwerb“