Finnish Christmas

Traditions

In the old town of Turku, the former capital of Finland, a special ceremony is held to declare the beginning of "Christmas peace" period, starting at 12 o'clock noon on Christmas Eve and lasting for twenty days. Traditional Finnish Christmas songs are hymns that are sung in the church.

Christmas Day is usually spent quietly at home, relaxing and resting, with some people perhaps attending the early morning church service.Sauna is one of the most important traditions. Many Finnish families go to sauna on Christmas Eve. It's so relaxing and makes you feel good.

Christmas foods

The following pictures are from our school's Christmas lunch. Herring, ham and rosolli salad.

Some potato- and rutabaga casserole, salmon and Finnish fresh cheese.

Christmas lunch in our canteen

Gingerbread cookies, x-mas tree and riceporridge

How do you spend your Christmas?

Nikolas: I'll spend my Christmas in Thailand this year. I'm going to travel with my family. This is my first year abroad at Christmas.Anna-Stina: I'm at home on Christmas Eve. I usually go for a walk with my dog. Later we go to sauna and then we eat a lot. After eating, we open the presents which are under the Christmas tree and then we just hang out together the rest of the evening. Katariina: Christmas would be nothing without dozens of candles and TV-programs for children! It's our tradition to take some candles to the graveyard and make a bet how many "Santa's little helpers" with long white beard we will see in the traffic.

Leena - English Teacher: I spend my Christmas time at home with my family reading, eating and just relaxing, maybe playing board games together. On Boxing day we visit our relatives, too.

Santa Claus aka Father ChristmasThe real Santa lives here in Finland. The Santa Claus Village is at the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi, Lapland.

You can visit Santa Claus and cross the magical Arctic Circle.The Arctic Circle is a line visible on the map, north of which the sun can be seen above the horizon even at midnight during the summertime. Contrastingly, during the winter the sun stays below the horizon for a certain time. If you want to watch: Live video from Santa Claus Village