At the five-day trade show, Kris Kringle impersonators attended workshops on makeup and marketing, beard care and Santa ethics. More than 550 Santas answered a survey about playing the jolly old elf.

By this time of year, the town of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland -- marketed by tourism officials since the 1980s as the "real" home of Santa Claus ... and long white beard, resting his weary ...