Joulu Suomessa // Christmas in Finland

Hyvää Joulua! 
Merry Christmas

Our Christmas tree & fireplace

Just a few days ago everyone around the world we 

celebrated Christmas. As us exchange students I can definitely say that celebrating this holiday in a foreign country - although not bad - it's definitely different. This was my 18th Christmas, and my 1st Christmas being away from my family over the holidays. You would think that I'd be homesick throughout the entire holiday season of December but surprisingly, I rarely was. So many new and incredible experiences were happening that it was hard to even find time to think of home. At least, not to miss it. Of course I have to say that I love each and everyone of you dearly and I do think of you all often! But here there's many new experiences that I know are a one in a lifetime chance so why not make the most of it!? :)

Christmas in Finland has it's similarity's to an American Christmas, but it also has many differences. For instance, if you ask any Finn in the country where "Father Christmas" a.k.a. SANTA lives they will tell you "Well in Finland, of course... at the arctic circle. Everyone knows the North Pole is way too cold, nobody could live there." Hmm... My dear Americans, would you agree with this statement? I think not! Most everyone else in the world would agree by saying Santa lives in the North Pole. That's what all the books and movies teach us, after all. But of course, much like every other country in the world Finland believes that they are the best out there and so therefore Santa lives in Finland.

And as Santa comes through the chimney and leaves presents in your stockings in America, he comes to Finland in a much different matter. I'll get around to this in a minute though... first I have to tell about all of the previous happenings. 

First of all, let me point out the fact that Christmas in Finland (and most of Europe) is mainly celebrated on December 24th, and then the 25th being more of a relax around the house kind of day. This idea in itself was definitely a bit different for me since I've always celebrated the 24th as Christmas Eve and then continuing on celebrating Christ's birth and all of the other traditions on the 25th. And so, although different in this matter, it was still a really fun and interesting time to be a part of.

On the morning of the 24th I woke up sometime around 9 a.m. and immediately went to sauna. No good morning coffee, no time to even wake up -- it's SAUNA time. I do have to admit though, it was a pretty relaxing and nice way to wake up, much different compared to the chaos of Christmas morning in the states. Once the sauna got warm my host mom and I decided to go ahead and be crazy finns and roll around in the snow outside. Just when the sauna made us so warm that we couldn't be there any longer we grabbed our towels and stepped outside to the backyard. I have to say, only in Finland can you roll around in the snow completely n a k e d where your entire family, host grandparents, and more than likely your neighbors can clearly see you and it's completely okay. For those of you non-finns, you might consider this to be incredibly weird... maybe even inappropriate. But for all the local natives, I'm sure you can agree that this is in fact no big deal -- maybe even a bit normal. ;)

Morning of December, 24th - Glögi with the 1st & 2nd host family. 

1st family, 2nd family, & neighbors after the Christmas Peace.

After the entire sauna experience we all got dressed and had a nice breakfast together. My host grandparents were here to spend the next few days with us in our celebrations of the holidays, so we had a few extra guests at our table. Once everyone had finished eating those of us who were going into the city finished getting ready and left the house. It was me, my host mom & dad, and my host grandfather and all of us were going to the city to see the Christmas peace. This is something that's watched and broadcast ed across the entire country, and although most finns watch this at home on the t.v. my hosts decided it would be a neat experience to see in person. And so we bundled up tight and faced the cold to experience witnessing the Christmas peace.

Insert from an online description of the Christmas held in my city, Turku, on December 24th: 

"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.

The tradition of declaring Christmas peace is known to date back to 13th century. It used to be common to all the Nordic countries, but only in Finland has it been maintained almost uninterruptedly up to our days.

In the declaration, the citizens are wished a merry Christmas and prompted to spend the Christmas time peacefully, avoiding "noisy and rowdy behaviour".

Once the peace had been declared my host family had met up with my 1st host family and their neighbors and all of us cuddled up indoors to have some glasses of glögi and visit for awhile. It was really nice being able to see my 1st host family on the holidays and I was really happy that I had the opportunity to visit with everyone. After everyone finished their drinks my 1st host family and I exchanged Christmas gifts and we all headed our way back home.

Setting the table in preparations for Christmas dinner. 

Christmas dinner is very different than what would be served during the holidays in the USA.