If you want to see the world's largest Santa, head to this Portuguese town

Agueda is the place where you will find the smallest Santa in the world as well

Águeda, just like any other Portuguese or European town, is busy setting up Christmas stage and decorations in its squares and streets all in that encompassing search for the sense of joy. What sets this locality of less than 50,000 inhabitants apart, however, is that it boasts of having the largest statue of Santa Claus in the world – certified by the Guinness World Book of Records since 2016.

That’s some exemplary Christmas spirit for a town that most likely never, or at least very rarely, sees any snow even during the winter. But if you want to stand out in a Christmas landscape composed of more or less expected symbols anywhere you go, you’d better go big.

And that’s what Águeda has done. The town invites residents and guests to marvel at the 21-metre-tall, seated Santa lit up by more than 250,000 LED bulbs between 18 November and 7 January. The statue, which equals the size of a seven-storey building, has been officially vetted as the largest in the world.

Two record-breaking Santas, one town

You’ll find the awe-inspiring Santa Claus (Pai Natal) at Largo 1° de Maio on the right bank of the Agueda River. This year, one of the new features is that Santa will be accompanied by a Christmas band, as well as reindeer and some decorations alluding to the season.

What visitors would be perhaps delighted to find out is that if they wanted to feast their eyes on the tiniest Santa in the world (in order to find some inner balance), they would only have to move some 200 metres away from the grand Pai Natal to the local Tourism Office.

During the working hours of the Office, people have the opportunity to look at a micro-sculpture of the jolly old man, created by UK artist Willard Wigan. In order to appreciate its intricate details, you have to look at it under a microscope, as it’s only as big as the period dot on this page. This Santa is small enough to go not only down the chimneys but also through the eye of a needle if needed.