1. TRADITIONAL FINNISH CHRISTMAS
The Viking heritage
In the pre-Christian Nordic countries, it was a custom to
celebrate the "return of the light" in time of the winter
solstice in December, which marked the beginning of longer
days.
Vikings celebrated the coming of the sun by sacrificing for
their gods, eating and drinking well, playing games, burning
bonfires and exchanging gifts during a three-day feast.
The celebrations had many elements that are still common in
the modern Nordic Christmas celebration.
The Swedish, Norwegian and Danish word for Christmas,
jul, the Icelandic jól, the Finnish joulu and the Estonian jõul
all have their origin in the old Viking word hjul, meaning
"sun wheel".
After Christianity reached Finland in the 12th century,
the old Nordic traditions and habits began to
assimilate with Christian Christmas celebration.
These preserved habits include food traditions, such
like eating ham from pagan times and lutefisk during
fast days from the Roman Catholic time.
Picture on left: Finnish Christmas treats from the
19th century (Helsinki City Museum - Burgher's
House)
The Protestant reformation started by the German
monk and theologian Martin Luther (1483 - 1546) also affected Sweden and Finland from ca
1520 on, and the Christmas traditions changed once more. Many Catholic religious symbols, like
nativity scenes, were banned. However, nowadays they have become increasingly popular again
among the Finnish Lutherans.
Family Christmas in Finland
Like in many other countries, Christmas traditions in Finland are centered on the home and
family. The sense of warmth of the family home and the merriment of the season are accentuated
amidst the harsh reality of a far north winter.
The celebration of Christmas occurs from December 24th to the 26th. Several weeks before

2. hand, during the advent season, homes are prepared, cookies are baked, and decorations are
made ready.
Christmas traditions in Finland have become known to over 140 countries largely because of a
traditional event that has occurred every year, save one, since the mid 1300's. In the city of
Turku, in southern Finland, the people gather just before noon. After the Turku Cathedral Bell
strikes twelve, the Declaration of Christmas Peace is read.
The Declaration of Christmas Peace
“Tomorrow, God willing, is the graceful celebration of the birth of our Lord
and Savior; and thus is declared a peaceful Christmas time to all, by advising
devotion and to behave otherwise quietly and peacefully,
because he who breaks this peace and violates the peace of Christmas by any
illegal or improper behavior shall under aggravating circumstances be guilty
and punished according to what the law and statutes prescribe for each and
every offence separately.”
Finally, a joyous Christmas feast is wished to all inhabitants of the city.
This Finnish Christmas tradition is so famous that it is broadcast over all the air waves and TV.
The ceremony ends with a flourish as the trumpets play the National Anthem.
Santa Claus
Finland is the home of Santa, and every Finnish child knows that Santa lives on the Mountain of
Korvatunturi in the town of Savukoski (although many other countries insist that Santa Claus
lives on the North Pole). This town is in the northern section of Finland called Lapland. There
are many many reindeer in Lapland and, after all, Why wouldn't Santa live where his reindeer
are?
By Christmas Eve morning, the children are all awash with excitement for they know that
Finland is the first country on the list of Santa's stops. As a matter of fact, he stops there on
Christmas Eve with gifts for everyone.
CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS
Finnish homes are decorated with different kinds of Christmassy ornaments:
decorated wreaths on doors and lit paper stars or Christmas lights of various
designs and shapes hung in windows.
Among the decorations, there may be the traditional Nordic billy-goat made
of straw, coming in various sizes, or small statuettes representing Christmas
gnomes or elves, angels, reindeer, snowmen.
Festive tablecloths and decorative textiles are laid out or hung on walls. The

3. colours most often associated with Finnish Christmas are warm red, warm green or pure white,
perhaps enriched with a tinge of gold, silver, copper, etc. Also tartan fabrics with Christmassy
colours are popular, for example in the form of ribbons and bows decorating the Christmas
presents.
And since it is the darkest season of the year, candles and tealights
are burnt to bring light and warmth in the middle of winter. Many
types of lanterns and outdoor candles may be seen lit in gardens,
yards and balconies and also trees or bushes in gardens and parks
may be decorated with tiny Christmas lights.
Himmeli, a traditional, old Finnish Christmas
ornament, may be hung from the ceiling in
some homes. It is made of short strips of straw tied together with strings to
form a complex three-dimensional structure.
Picture on left: a traditional Finnish himmeli.
In the old days, the himmeli was hung above the dinner table to ensure that
the coming rye crop would be plentiful. There are many different shapes
and sizes of himmeli: the bigger the size, the larger the rye crop would be.
Christmas tree
Decorated Christmas trees became popular in Finland towards the end of the
19th century, although the habit of erecting festive trees is known to have been
common already long before this in the Nordic countries.
Christmas trees are spruces, usually decorated with (nowadays electric)
candles or lights, silver or golden ribbons, coloured glass balls and a multitude
of other kinds of ornaments. Typically, a silver or golden star is placed at the
top of the tree.
Traditionally, the tree is brought in and decorated on Christmas Eve morning.
However, nowadays many people like to buy and decorate their tree as early
as about a week before Christmas.

4. FINNISH CHRISTMAS DINNER
In Finland, the Christmas dinner is eaten on the Christmas Eve,
December 24th. Families and friends gather together to share the
warm, festive atmosphere of the evening and enjoy the various
traditional Christmas dishes.
Oven-baked ham, root vegetable casseroles, mixed beetroot
salad, liver casserole and pâtés, meat aspics, smoked salmon,
fish roe and herring dishes form the basis of the traditional
Finnish Christmas dinner.
Perhaps the three most essential dishes on Finnish Christmas
table are oven-baked ham, rutabaga casserole and mixed
beetroot salad. Without the taste of these traditional dishes, there
would be something missing in Finnish Christmas celebration.
This basic Christmas dinner menu is of course enriched with all
kinds of supplementary dishes in different families, according to
their individual liking, traditions or diets.
TRADITIONAL FINNISH CHRISTMAS RECIPES
RUTABAGA CASSEROLE
Use a large, sturdy knife and watch your fingers when cutting up
rutabaga, since it is a rather hard-textured vegetable. It is best to cut it
in thick slices, and then remove the peel with a paring knife or a
vegetable peeler.
enough fresh rutabagas to get 1 kg puree (see instructions below)
½ tsp salt
150 ml dark molasses
2 tbsp flour
1 - 2 eggs
150 ml cream
Thickly slice and peel the rutabaga(s). Cut the slices in chunky pieces. Cook the pieces in
unsalted water until almost tender. Pour out the cooking water. Place the uncovered pan back to
the warm stove plate, so that the excess moisture will evaporate, and the rutabaga feels dry.
Push the rutabaga through a food mill to get about 1 kilogram of smooth puree. Let the puree
cool a bit, and then mix in the salt, molasses, flour, eggs and half of the cream. Whip the rest of

5. the cream and gently fold it in. Pour the runny batter into one or two buttered oven casseroles.
Sprinkle the surface with a thin layer of dry breadcrumbs and decorate it by pressing little
bumps on it with the tip of a spoon. Dot the surface generously with pats of butter.
Bake the casserole either at 175 °C for 1 - 1½ hours or at 150 °C for a bit longer until the batter
is set, slightly puffed and golden brown on top. Serve the casserole with baked Christmas ham.
Although rutabaga casserole is always best when prepared, baked and eaten fresh from the
scratch, it can be frozen after baking. In that case, omit the breadcrumbs. Let the frozen
casserole thaw in refrigerator. If necessary, moisten the casserole by mixing in a bit of cream
before warming it up. Cover the casserole and warm at 150 °C.
CURED SALMON
Although salmon is commonly eaten throughout the year in
Finland, it is also an essential part of the Finnish Christmas
dinner.
Typical preparations of salmon include the raw, sugar-and-
salt-cured gravlax and hot- or cold-smoked salmon. Also
other types of fish, like powan, are served freshly salted or
smoked.
Picture on left: home-cured gravlax slices with dill.

6. CHRISTMAS GLÖGG
Glögg (or glögi in Finnish) is a Scandinavian mulled
wine made with red wine or red fruit juices,
heated up along with sugar and spices
(cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, orange peel, allspice,
mace, nutmeg, etc) and served mixed with
raisins and almonds.
375 ml (½ bottle) fruity red wine
375 ml good blackcurrant juice
1 stick of cinnamon
3 - 5 cloves
3 - 5 allspice berries
small piece of dried Seville orange peel
100 ml sugar, or to taste
for serving:
dark raisins
almonds
(vodka)
Scald the almonds and peel them. If you cannot find dried Seville orange peel, substitute it with a
couple of thin strips of the zest of a fresh regular orange.
Pour the wine and the juice in a saucepan and heat the mixture up. Do not let it boil. Add some
sugar and the spices, mix thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved and let steep on a low heat for
5 - 10 minutes (or longer) without boiling. Strain the glögg and spike it up with a dash of vodka,
if you like. Reheat the mixture, if necessary.
Drop a few blanched almonds and raisins in serving mugs or tea-glasses with a spoon in them
and pour the hot glögg over. Serve immediately with e.g. star-shaped Christmas pastries or
gingerbread cookies.

7. GINGERBREAD COOKIES
These cookies are made by cutting out different shapes from rolled out
gingerbread dough with cookie cutters, then baked.
100 ml dark molasses
200 ml sugar
1 portion (4 - 5 tsp) of gingerbread spice
1 tsp baking soda
50 ml cold water
150 g butter
1 - 2 eggs
500 g flour
Mix the molasses, sugar and spices in a saucepan and bring the mixture to the boil. Remove the
pan from heat. Mix the baking soda thoroughly with the water and add to the sugar-spice
mixture. Add the soft butter, egg(s) (one at a time) and flour. Mix just enough to get a sticky
dough.
Wrap the flattened dough in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for overnight, for the flour to
swell. On the next day, roll out the hardened dough between two parchment papers (thus
preventing the dough from sticking to the rolling pin) into as thin sheet as possible (about 3 mm).
Remove the top parchment paper.
Using cookie cutters, cut different shapes out of the dough. Popular Finnish shapes are little men
and women, piglets, hearts, stars, half moons, etc. Leave some space between the shapes, as the
dough will spread a bit in the oven. Remove the excess dough from between the shapes and roll
it out again for the next batch of cookies. If the dough warms up and gets too sticky to handle,
put it back in refrigerator for a while.
Transfer the parchment paper and the cookies on a baking sheet and bake at 200 °C for about 5 -
10 minutes, or until the cookies begin to brown slightly around the edges. This depends on the
thickness and size of the cookie shapes. Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack.
SOURCES:
http://www.dlc.fi/~marianna/gourmet/recipe.htm
http://www.family-christmas-traditions.com/Christmas-traditions-in-Finland.html
http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-world/finland.html