Christmas in Finland
In Finland, Santa is a celebrity. The world’s “Official Hometown of Santa Claus” is in Rovaniemi which has a Santa’s workshop as well as “Santa Claus’ Main Post Office” that receives half a million letters a year to Santa from over two hundred countries. The figure of Santa in Finland is one that’s warm and welcoming and his presence is a mainstay at every airport and train station during Christmastime. However, his image has come a long ways from its rather terrifying roots. In Finland, Santa is called “Joulupukki” which translates to “Christmas Goat” and is based on a long ago tradition of a terrifying Yule Goat who showed up at Christmas and asked people for presents. Over time the goat became a gift giver and a human figure rather than a goat, but the name of the 'Christmas Goat' is still kept to this day.
Besides Santa, Finland has a lot of unique and heartwarming traditions. Animals are given their own Christmas in Finland, with farmers sometimes hanging a sheaf of wheat or bags of suet on a tree to be eaten and pecked at by the birds. There is also a declaration of Christmas peace for forest animals in many municipalities, so there is no hunting during Christmas. That ties into the broader “Declaration of Christmas Peace”, which is declared by the Mayor of Turku mid-day on Christmas Eve. It is a tradition that dates back to the 13th century declaring that those who commit crimes on a religious holiday will receive a harsher punishment. Today, it is a reminder to all to behave respectfully and peacefully during the three holy days of Christmas. Over a million people tune into the broadcast each year.
On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, most Finns visit two rather unique places: the cemetery and the sauna. About three-quarters of Finnish families visit a cemetery during Christmasrime, mostly on Christmas Eve. Special traffic arrangements are needed to handle the crowds. The tradition to visit cemeteries and light candles on family graves was started in the 1900s and became common practice after the Winter War of 1939 to honor the fallen soldiers. With the sun setting at 3:00 PM in December, the candles and hanging lanterns left around the grave often transform the cemetery into a lighted winter wonderland. After that, most Finns take a Christmas sauna as a nice way to stay warm during the dark and cold as well as to wash and get ready for the evening festivities ahead.
We did as many of these as we could with making a “Tree Wreath for Birds”. We opted for a visit to a fabulous local sauna (complete with sauna, yurt, and immersion pond) over the cemetery (though we did make an ice lantern). We tried our hand at Finnish paper stars (with mixed success) and also watched “Rare Exports” which prominently features “Joulupukki”. And we listened to the “Peace of Christmas” broadcast while enjoying our gingerbread cookies..
For food, the Finns often throw a major family feast on Christmas Eve. We did our best to create our own version of that, bringing along Ben’s parents to help. The main meal is often a leg of pork that we replicated, complete with homemade Finnish mustard and brown sugar bread crumbs. Casseroles are prominent of different vegetables including, rutabaga, carrot and potato. There is often seafood in the form of cured salmon and herring. And dessert is often a baked rice pudding/porridge called Karelian Pies. They also love have a fondness for gingerbread, known as piparkakku., as well as Joulutorttu (Finnish star cookies).
ACTIVITIES:
Ice Lanterns
Decorating Gingerbread
Santa’s Mailbox (Rovaniemi Christmas Village Video)
Kokokarput Star Decorations
“Peace at Christmas” Broadcast ("The Declaration of Christmas Peace in Turku")
Sauna Visit
“Rare Exports” Movie
FOODS:
Plum Fruit Juice
Smoked Salmon & Herring
Gingerbread / Piparkakku
Christmas Beer / Glogg
Lonkero Finnish Cocktail
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