Click the headline to see the links to the story why Estonia's Santas decided to drop whips
AFP, December 2009 - Estonia's Santa Clauses have been bitten by a reform bug, deciding to get rid of the birch whips they use to frighten naughty youngsters.
"Good children must grow up without the whip -- or the fear of the whip -- so we've called upon all Santas to leave them at home from now on," a Santa who joined dozens of others at the Baltic nation's annual Father Christmas congress told Estonian television.
Estonian Santas have traditionally carried a bunch of twigs to put the wind up naughty children -- although the weapon remains an unused threat -- and reminds kids that they won't get a present if they misbehave.
But some traditions die hard, the Santa noted.
"One delegate asked for the freedom to choose the colour of Santa's coat, saying he feels allergic to red and wants to wear a yellow coat instead, but that request was turned down by the congress," he explained.
Fins call dwarfs and Santas to show up
Finnish company is seeking dwarfs and Santa Claus from Estonia, offering the work in North Finland region Lapland, the traditional home area of Nordic Santa Claus. The job offer put up at one of Estonia´s biggest job market sites in net, called CV Keskus, is requesting the candidates for dwarfs position to have sense of humor, positive view on life, and will to work with kids. While applicants for dwarfs are not requested to have had previous practice being dwarfs, the applicants seeking Santa Claus position must have previous experience being Santa Claus. /autumn 2009
