Authorities in Kyrgyzstan have launched a contest to track down Father Christmas somewhere inside the mountainous Central Asian state - a week after Swedish experts reported that he must be there.
"The state tourism agency always knew that Father Christmas lived here and finally Swedish scientists have proved it," said Akbar Dzhigitov, an official from the Kyrgyz tourism board.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us since Kyrgyzstan really wants to be recognized as the true home of Father Christmas," better known in predominantly Sunni Muslim Kyrgyzstan as Grandfather Frost," Dzhigitov said.
The contest runs until Dec. 20 and the winner will receive a reward, but the hunt could prove tough because of the former Soviet republic's imposing mountain ranges.
Swedish engineering consultancy Sweco announced two weeks ago that Father Christmas would have to be based in Kyrgyzstan to visit all of the world's 2.5 billion children in time.
And that was even if his sleigh travelled at 5,800km per second.
They said the North Pole, where he is traditionally thought to be based, is impractical for logistical reasons.
Father Christmas and his faithful team of reindeer would not be able to make his round-the-world trip from there in time.
But if Santa left from Kyrgyzstan and travelled against the earth's rotation he would have 48 hours to deliver all the presents, the consultancy said.
Another report circulating on the Internet has been less helpful, however.
It suggested that Santa's sleigh, weighed down with presents and travelling at supersonic speed, would encounter such massive air resistance that the entire contraption would burst into flames and be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. (AFP)
Sam: I think I'm going to enter the contest to find Father Christmas.
Shane: Oh, really? I've always wanted to go to the North Pole.
Sam: Oh, no. The contest is in Kyrgyzstan.
Shane: Kyrgyzstan? Wow man that's off the wall.
Sam: Not according to some Swedish scientists. Anyway, seems like a good enough excuse to take a trip to Central Asia to me!
山姆：我想我會加入尋找耶誕老人的比賽。
夏恩：真的嗎？我一直想去北極。
山姆：不！比賽在吉爾吉斯。
夏恩：吉爾吉斯？還真奇怪。
山姆：瑞典科學家們可不這麼認為。不過呢…這是個好藉口讓我去中亞玩。
off the wall 奇怪的、荒誕的
If something is off the wall it is very unusual or crazy sounding. For example: "I really enjoyed that exhibition, some of the pieces were really off the wall"
如果某件事「off the wall」就是說它十分不尋常。例如：「我真的很喜歡那場展覽，有些作品好特別」。
在瑞典專家報導耶誕老人就住在當地一星期後，吉爾吉斯當局展開一場競賽，要在這個多山的中亞國家找尋耶誕老人。
「國家觀光局一直相信耶誕老人住在這裡，瑞典科學家終於證實了這點，」該國觀光局的官員阿克巴說。
他還說︰「我們有許多事要做，因為吉爾吉斯真的很想被認可為耶誕老人的家。在這個由伊斯蘭遜尼派掌控的國家，耶誕老人常被稱為冰霜爺爺。」
比賽將持續到十二月二十日，贏家可獲得獎賞。但這個前蘇維埃共和國成員境內有許多壯觀的山脈，比賽因而相當困難。
瑞典工程顧問公司Sweco兩週前宣佈，除非耶誕老人住在吉爾吉斯，才來得及送禮物給全球二十五億個兒童。
而他的雪橇則必須以每秒五千八百公里的高速行進。
他們說北極，也就是傳統上大家認為他住的地方，因後勤補給不便而不切實際。
從北極出發的話，他和他忠實的馴鹿將無法準時環球一周。但該顧問公司說如果耶誕老人從吉爾吉斯出發，繞著地球反轉，他將有四十八小時來送禮物。
另一篇網路上流傳的文章就不太有用了。
它說耶誕老人的雪橇載著重物又以超音速飛行，將遭遇巨大的空氣阻力，而整個爆炸並變成火球，在千分之四點二六秒內蒸發。（法新社 /翻譯：張愛弟）
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