Nothing says Christmas like Finnish emojis

#4 of this occasional series

The Finnish emojis have humorously rebranded some of our Christmas icons.

The series began because Finns claim the original Santa as their own. You didn’t know he is actually from Korvantunturi, in Lapland? And you thought it was the North Pole — silly you. This emoji represents the feeling of never-ending wait for Santa.

At Christmas there’s a special pastry, called joulutorttu. The Finland site This is Finland describes it as the feeling of having one too many. “Every year you burn your mouth on the first one — beware of the plum jam in the middle! The sweet taste and nostalgia make up for it.” (More on this and other Finnish Christmas customs—see my posts in December 2015.)

A pikkujoulut is the Christmas party emoji, in which Finns depart from their quiet selves and become wild party animals.

Rounding out the set are five more, that describe feelings during our long winters.

Wooly socks — the feeling of granny-made warmth — are worn while skiing or while sick, like a Finnish national costume, and even with flip-flops. (Remember Fashionista Finns, in post #3?)

A sleeping bear — wanting to sleep all winter. “Sometimes when the long dark winter seems to stretch endlessly ahead, you just feel the bears have a point in hibernating.”

The feeling of sunless days — that period between December and January is called kaamos.

“Stuck” is that very universal experience of putting one’s tongue on metal when it’s freezing outside. You    know you shouldn’t — but you try it anyway.

Four season BBQ and “Meanwhile in Finland”

both express a sense that temps around 0°C seem warm — and we see folks wearing shorts, even people sunbathing, because we’re sooo tired of winter.

Ahh, yes, winter.

Nikki

Declaring the Christmas peace — joulurauha

One beautiful Finnish tradition I’ve just learned about is declaring a Christmas peace, the joulurauha, which has roots back to the 13th century. Once this tradition was common to all the Nordic countries, but only in Finland has it been maintained, almost uninterruptedly, to this day.

In Turku, an old town which is the former capital of Finland, a special ceremony is held to declare a period of Christmas peace. This begins at noon on Christmas Eve and lasts for 20 days. The ceremony includes a hymn, the Finnish national anthem and other music. And it’s televised — many Finns watch the event on TV as the bells of Turku Cathedral ring.

The declaration is given in Finnish and Swedish. 
Translated into English, it would be:

"Tomorrow, God willing,

is the graceful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour;

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 behaviour 
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."

To all the world — joulurauha. And Hyvää Joulua! (Happy Christmas!)

Nikki

A Christmas sauna — a joulusauna

Mauri, my Finnish correspondent when I was writing Some Like it Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories*, told me one of his family traditions was a Christmas sauna, a joulusauna. It was a custom I had never heard of. They chose the day before Christmas Eve, but noted that others might go to sauna the morning of Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day itself.

Christmas came to Finland only about 700 years ago — the tradition of a sauna at midwinter has been around for longer than Christianity has. Like other countries, when Christmas arrived, it added existing midwinter customs which had existed for thousands of years before. Throughout much of Scandinavia, the old beliefs held that on the night of midwinter, the dead returned to the earth, and were appeased with a sauna. Many still keep the sauna warm and throw another ladle of water on the rocks to make it comfortable for when their ancestors, elves or gnomes visit.

A different reason saunas were taken Christmas Eve Day might date to the years when most Finns lived in the country and did heavy farm or logging work. At Christmas, they could take time to be with families, a celebration in itself to relax and eat when time with loved ones was the biggest gift of all.

On a normal day in Finland, Mauri said, one would go to the sauna during the evening. However, on the 24th of December, as the myth goes, the spirits of the dead return after sunset for their sauna. So, to make room for them, Finns take their joulusaunas early in the day, or the day before, like his family.

In fact, millions of saunas are heated in Finland on Christmas Eve, and up to 70% of the population of Finland will enjoy a joulusauna on Christmas Eve. Public saunas even have special Christmas Eve and Christmas Day hours for patrons who don’t have their own saunas.

What a great way to get ready for the celebrations — to get totally clean and to sweat out all the obligations and lists that start taking precedence. And as many rural women in northern climates gave birth in saunas, being the only place with water and heat, it’s the perfect time to contemplate our Savior’s birth, in its own humble location.

My next post will describe another unique Finnish tradition — Christmas peace.

Nikki

* Buy a copy of Some Like It Hot: The Sauna, Its Lore and Stories from the publisher, North Star Press of St. Cloud, Minnesota, or from local booksellers.For a personally inscribed copy, send $20 (which includes tax and shipping costs) to: Nikki Rajala, P.O. Box 372, Rockville, Minnesota 56369.

Celebrating Joulu (Yule) in Finland

Like most countries, the Finns enjoy special traditions at Christmastime, called Joulu. Typically, they celebrate on Christmas Eve, with festive meals, gifts from Santa and worship.  

On Christmas Eve, families might visit cemeteries to place candles on the gravestones and then attend worship services. Imagine the beauty of flickering candlelight illuminating the dark (the sun sets around 3:15 p.m.).

The Finnish Santa Claus is called joulupukki. He skips the roof-and-chimney routine — instead he knocks on the front door to deliver Christmas gifts, which then are put under the tree.

Joulupöytä is Christmas dinner, (translated “Yule” table). A traditional meal might feature ham with mustard, various presentations of fish — from gravlax (a smoked salmon) to fish roe, lutefisk and herring (often pickled), casseroles of root vegetables (like rutabagas or carrots) and mixed beetroot salad. The traditional beverage is mulled wine, glögi. 

Desserts include mixed fruit soup, rice pudding (whoever gets the hidden almond opens their gifts first), the thin, very brittle ginger cookies called piparkakut, and prune jam pastries, the joulutorttu. 
 

But before the meal, the worship service and the gift-giving, they enjoy one more tradition — the Christmas sauna. That’s the subject of my next post.

Nikki