Finland at first glance seems harsh and cold. But, looking closer, you are surprised how the Finns are able to celebrate holidays on a grand scale. The traditions of celebrating Christmas in Finland have been sacredly honored and observed for centuries.
Preparing for the holidays
Finns are people who love holidays. Especially appreciated, of course, Christmas and New Year. Probably nowhere in the world they are celebrated on such a grand scale as in this northern country. And the first feature is that the official start of the holidays falls on the last week of November. That is, Christmas in Finland begins to be celebrated a month before it.
Of course, it's not easy - going to taverns and drinking crazy alcohol. The Finns hold their traditions sacred, and therefore every stage and every event is accompanied by many amazing features, which we will be happy to tell you about. And let's start with the first - small Christmas.
Little Christmas
Little Christmas in Finland starts on the last Sunday in November. Such a decision to celebrate the main holidayarose exactly 100 years ago. Then people decided that in one week you simply do not have time to celebrate it with everyone and you need more time. Allocated a whole month for gatherings.
Little Christmas or Pikkujoulu, as the Finns call it, are the days when you need to celebrate a future event with everyone except your family. And you can do it every day and different companies. Enterprises prepare especially carefully for Pikkujoul. They organize corporate parties and noisy mass celebrations. There are cases when celebrations in the team dragged on so that husbands and wives did not come home for weeks.
Pikkuyoulu is celebrated with friends, acquaintances, neighbors, colleagues, but not with relatives. For the family, there is only Christmas.
Traditional Little Christmas drink
It is customary to drink all strong drinks at Christmas in Finland. Photos and reviews of tourists serve as confirmation of this. Finns don't stand on ceremony and drink everything and a lot. Probably the only way to survive in the harsh northern conditions. But still, on Christmas Eve, there are some drinks that should not be neglected.
Thus, mulled wine is considered traditional. This warming drink is served in any country in Europe. It is prepared from hot wine with the addition of spices and citrus slices.
But Finland has its own special warming drink. It's called googy. The main ingredient is the same - hot wine. But besides it, vodka and other components are present in the glass. And which ones are the secret of every bar. Don't try glögi inChristmas Eve means not knowing what Christmas is like in Finland.
What souvenirs to buy
One more tradition is connected with souvenirs. Her story will take us back a hundred years, when women in Europe did not yet work in factories, and needlework on long winter evenings. They started preparing for Christmas in advance - at least a month in advance. Since then, the fashion has gone to start celebrating little Christmas at the end of November, that is, a month before the holiday.
Women decorated their houses with handmade souvenirs. The most important was considered a straw goat, decorated with scarlet ribbons. Given on a holiday, it will bring happiness and prosperity to the house. Red has always been considered a symbol of Christmas. All kinds of garlands, balls and other decorations are chosen in this color.
If you are in Finland, please note that caring housewives who remember and observe traditions will lay a red tablecloth on their table. Santa Claus must be present near the Christmas tree. He, as everyone knows, is called Joulupukki in Finland.
Christmas Story
Even in the distant pagan times, the Finns celebrated a certain holiday, which became the beginning of the tradition of celebrating Christmas in Finland. The date of December 25 was not chosen at all by chance.
In those pagan times there was one rite. On the longest winter night, which fell on December 21-22, the Finns celebrated the Day of the Rebirth of the Sun or the Solstice. It was customary to generously set the table in order to attract next year's harvest, to give to friends.gifts to a friend and, dressing up in animal costumes, congratulate neighbors and friends. This ceremony was called Youlu.
When the country adopted Christianity, people were in no hurry to give up the fun holiday, and the Catholic priests had no choice but to turn Youlu into Christmas. But all the traditions with carols and souvenirs remained. The goat is a very symbolic animal. Even the national Santa Claus is called Joulupukki, which translates as "Christmas goat".
Four Advents
Together with Christianity, another Catholic tradition came to Finland - to celebrate Advent. These are symbolic events that are held every Sunday before Christmas. Each family lights candles, one a week, decorated with the symbols of the New Year. The first is ignited 4 weeks before December 25, the second - three weeks before, and so on. All candles must burn until the morning of December 26, and only after that they can be removed.
It is customary to decorate the house and the city on the first Advent. Especially bright these days are Helsinki. Without the main showcase of the city "Stockmann" it is impossible to imagine Christmas in Finland. Photos of tourists are simply amazing in their fabulousness. The showcase is a moving composition that tells an extraordinary Christmas story. Every year the fairy tale is new, and that is why thousands of tourists and residents of the country come to the main showcase of the city. You can watch for several hours without looking up from the beauty and fabulousness of the shop window.
Christmas Eve
On Christmas Eve, as usual, everyone is busy preparing for Christmas. When Christmas is celebrated in Finland, they not only put up a Christmas tree, but also commemorate their dead loved ones.
December 24, on the eve of the bright Christian holiday, the Finns go to the cemetery and light candles on the graves of relatives. Thousands of lights scattered on the ground create a magical atmosphere.
By the way, the day before Christmas you need to come to the main square of the country in Helsinki. It is customary for us to listen to the president on New Year's Eve and raise glasses at exactly 12 o'clock. The Finns have something similar. Exactly at 12:00 on December 24, the mayor speaks on the main square of the capital. He solemnly announces the beginning of the Christmas world. And after his speech, the ancient bells of the Turku Cathedral beat 12 times. From now on, everyone should stop their work and send home to prepare for the holiday.
This tradition is more than 8 centuries old. But since then, everyone has gotten used to finishing the service at 12 am on December 24th. If you are in Helsinki, remember this, because not a single shop, not a single cafe will be open on Christmas night.
Christmas
And finally, the long-awaited Catholic Christmas in Finland has come - December 25th. In the morning, the whole family gathers at a large table. For northern residents, this is an exclusively family holiday. Aunts, uncles, numerous brothers and sisters come. It is customary to gather with the oldest members of the family. There are many dishes on the table, cooking hearty and a lot - these are all the same pagan traditions.
It is customary to give symbolic gifts. Expensive surprises can be considered vulgar. Most often, these are souvenirs, sweets or chocolate, small trinkets or household items.
If a person is lonely, he can always find refuge in the Catholic Church. Festive services begin early, at 6 o'clock in the morning. But visiting the church on December 25 is a must. After all, it is there that the real atmosphere of Christmas reigns.
Finnish Santa Claus
Finnish Santa Claus - Joulupukki - very similar to ours. He also comes to the children and also asks if they have behaved well. In a large basket, Joulupukki carries gifts that he gives out for a rhyme or a song. A guest cannot sit in one house for a long time, because other kids are waiting for him.
The birthplace of Santa Claus is in Finland, namely in Lapland. You can visit the fabulous place at any time of the year. But only at Christmas, real miracles happen here.
Tapani Day
This Christmas doesn't end in Finland. There is still the next day - December 26, the day of Christmas time or the day of Tapani (St. Stephen). The only tradition associated with it is to go to celebrate the arrival of Christmas with friends. December 26 - official holiday.
New Year
Celebrating Christmas and New Year in Finland is a lot of fun. True, the Finns are preparing less carefully for the New Year. At midnight, it is customary to go out with champagne and congratulate each other. At this time, gorgeous fireworks light up the sky.
Many people prefer to celebrateNew Year in costumes. To do this, theme parties are organized in the clubs.
There is another tradition associated with the New Year. After the official part, everyone goes home to guess on the tin. To do this, a tin coin is taken, melted in a special way and poured into a bucket of ice water. After that, they look at the outlines of the resulting figure. The meaning is being interpreted, and this is to be expected in the coming year.
Conclusion
It would be nice to celebrate New Year and Christmas in Finland. This is an amazing fairy-tale country where miracles happen and a fairy tale is written.
