The following report is courtesy of Ilari Karhapää from Esctoday.com:

The most famous men from Lapland sat down in LORDI’s Rocktaurant for a chat just before Christmas and greet their fans in Rovaniemi and wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy new year 2007, the year of when Eurovision Song Contest will be finally staged in Finland for the first time! Mr Lordi will be there - but will Santa Claus make an appearance, too?

Mr. Lordi and Santa Claus have a lot of common. Both never take off their mask, both are loved by kids (and maybe feared a little, too?). We all know Santa Claus lives in Korvatunturi, an ear shaped mountain near Rovaniemi, Finland but his origins and age are less known. Tomi Putaansuu or Mr Lordi’s rise to the fame has been well documented. The only thing missing is face photo.

The press in Finland agreed last spring not to publish any photos, with one famous exception that led to protests outside this magazine's headquarters and hundreds of cancelled subscriptions. Kids, and others, want to believe in the power of the mask and the fantasy. These two gentlemen make them curious. They want to touch them and face their fears, push the limits and yet, the look in those kid’s eyes when they look at Mr Lordi is the same of those who whisper in Santa’s ear their wishes for Christmas gifts.

In one look it would look simple as this: Santa is good, Santa is light. Mr Lordi is evil, Mr Lordi is darkness. But it isn’t quite that simple. The same theme, playing with opposites is a red line in “True Fantasy”, the theme chosen for Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki. Finland is a country of extreme opposites: darkness in winter vs midnight sun in summer and being close to nature vs high technology just to name two most obvious ones. Mr Lordi will surely be involved in Eurovision Song Contest 2007 and the rumour is Santa Claus might appear as well.

Waiting for that, I want to join Mr Lordi and Santa Claus wishing you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2007. Welcome to Finland and Helsinki all of you who are coming! And the rest of you: have a great time in front of your TV come May!