Introduction
I know this is a bit late, but... I'll try to post the New Year one before the actual holiday. ^^;;
On Decemberd 24th, Christmas eve, the Finns celebrate the birth of baby Jesus. Like with most holidays here, the evening before the holiday is the time of the actual celebration. And the Christmas eve is a day that is usually filled with traditions. I'll try to describe some of the most popular ones here.
Facts about Christmas:
In Finland, Father Christmas / Santa Clause (Joulupukki) does not come down the chimney. He often visits the families in the evening after the Christmas dinner, and gives out the presents then. The presents are often opened after Joulupukki leaves.
Joulupukki lives in Finland in Korvatunturi. Not in the North Pole. Not in Canada. Not in Greenland. Not in Siberia. IN FINLAND.
http://www.santaclaus.fi
People often visit the Graveyard and light candles on the graves of passed away relatives on Christmas eve or on Christmas day.
Even though some people otherwise miss the church at all other times, many people go to the Christmas church on the Christmas eve. The churches are filledwith different kinds of services from ordinary mass to more music filled concerts with just a short speech by a priest.
Most traditional Finnish Christmas dishes are different casseroles (potato, swede and carrot, for example) sweetened with syrup, ham (though turkey is becoming very popular too nowadays), peas, rosolli (a salad made of beet root, pickles, potato and apple) and different kinds of fish.
Going to the Christmas Sauna is also very popular. (Most people have a sauna in their own home, so this does not mean going to a public steam room) Some do it straight in the morning, others do it after the church, before eating the Christmas meal.
The Christmas trees here are usually decorated with very simple and few ornaments (compared to the US that is). And most families still have a real tree standing in their living room. Even though many shiny and glittery trends come and go, it is still quite popular to hang straw ornaments and self made paper ones to the tree.
The official Declaration of Christmas Peace is held in Turku at noon in the Christmas eve. People often watch it on television or listen to it through a radio. For many people, that moment is the beginning of Christmas time.
