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Colin Murray Live from Lapland

Colin Murray Live from Lapland: Christmas Eve

Sport: Football

Christmas Eve

24/12/2012

BBC Radio 5 Live - Colin Murray Live from Lapland, Christmas Eve

Colin Murray celebrates Christmas Eve live in Lapland and looks ahead to festive football.

Colin Murray combines the magical celebrations involved in a Lapland Christmas with a look ahead to the seasonal football fixtures.

Nowhere in the world do football and Christmas have such a close bond than Rovaniemi, the 'home' of Father Christmas and also his football team, 'FC Santa Claus.' In this show Colin Murray
marries the two together in a special programme live from Lapland.

Because Lapland is the home of Santa Claus, he usually visits there early in the evening on Christmas Eve to give himself time to get round the rest of the world. So Christmas Eve in Rovaniemi, rather than Christmas Day, is full of traditions from taking hot saunas with friends, preparing the Pork, Herring and Cod for dinner to dressing up as Joulupukki (Santa Claus) as well as delivering presents to local children.

Colin takes part in some of these activities and gives you the chance to send your last-minute Christmas and footballing wishes direct to Santa, as he delivers them to the Elves in Santa's Post Office.

Live from the Santa Claus Hotel, in the centre on Rovaniemi town, Colin also looks ahead to the festive football fixtures with 5 live's regular pundits and members of the 'FC Santa Claus' football team. And this isn't a pub team, or a joke. This is a team playing in the equivalent of England's League 2, turning out in all weather conditions, with a Brazilian striker to add some South American footballing flair.

At the end of the programme we count down the minutes until Christmas arrives in Lapland (it's midnight at the end of the programme there). We also hear from UK tourists about their alternative Christmas experience and what they've asked Santa for this year.

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