Celebrations of Christmas in Finland begin early. In fact the Advent marks the beginning of the Christmas season. From the first day of the Advent itself people start gifting each other ‘advent calendars’ to mark the coming of Christmas. Christmas in Finland is incomplete without the Christmas feast and Santa Claus especially in Finland.
Streets are decorated and the whole country seems to be immersed in some kind of perpetual mirth. Christmas pine trees stand tall and the streets are covered with snow. In recent years Christmas in Finland has become all the more colorful because there are electric bulbs and neon lights with which giant coniferous pines are decorated. The Christmas holidays officially begin from the 23rd of December. The celebrations reach the peak during the eve of Christmas.
On the 24th night the people are busy preparing a sumptuous Christmas meal. Some of the special Christmas dishes that the guests love to savor are:
- kinkku (ham)
- porkkanalaatikko (carrot casserole)
- lanttulaatikko (rutabaga casserole)
- luumukiisseli (prune soup)
- riisipuuro (rice pudding)
- piparkakut (ginger bread cookies)
- joulupulla (braided sweet white bread)
- joulutortut (pastry filled with cooked prunes)
- kalja (Finnish Christmas brew, a little like beer)
Among the Finnish Christmas traditions is also the ‘sauna’. People tune in and sing the lovely Christmas hymns together. Some of the hymns that are sung during Christmas in Finland are:
- Adeste fideles
- Angels We Have Heard on High
- Arkihuolesi kaikki heitä
- Far, Far Away in Judea's Plains
- First Noël
- Jingle Bells
- Jo joutuu ilta
- Holy Night
- Tannenbaum
- Thou Joyfyl Day
It is during the Christmas Eve that Santa knocks on all doors to find out whether there are any ‘well behaved children’. All the children get lovely Christmas presents. Santa is the hero of the Finnish Christmas and he rides all the way in a sleigh from his home in Lapland. The Christmas day itself is a rest day and people spend the day either by reading books or going on short excursions. Christmas holidays come to end on the 26th December which is St. Stephen’s Day.
Authentic online information on Christmas in Finland offered only at travel.mapsofworld.
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