Christmas Holidays in Finland

Christmas holidays in Finland consist of the following:

December 24 - Jouluaatto (Christmas Eve), not an official holiday but is practically considered a non-working day in most work places  nowadays. Grocery stores and markets are open until 12 noon and public transport stops in the afternoon.

December 25 - Joulupäivä (Christmas Day),  a public holiday. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are traditionally spent with the family.

December 26 - Toinen joulupäivä or Tapaninpäivä (Second Christmas Day),  a public holiday, is also St. Stephen's Day and Boxing Day. This day is typically for friends and relatives.

I won't write in here the history and details of Finnish Christmas traditions but I found some sites that interested readers may find useful:

Christmas special - this is Finland 

Finnish Christmas - Nordic Recipe Archive
Christmas traditions in Finland - Christmas Traditions

Christmas in Finland - Diary of a British Expatriate in Finland (with some real & funny Christmas stories)

Christmas Eve 2011

Christmas Eve 2010

From what I have read and heard so far, I can say that preparing for and celebrating traditional Finnish Christmas includes various activities which manifest the peaceful spirit of this festivity in unique ways. This is my second Christmas in Finland but I still haven't witnessed the Declaration of Peace live (online at least), haven't tried the sauna, haven't been to a Finnish cemetery on Christmas Eve, and haven't seen a real snow lantern either.

Last year, the wonderful White Christmas scenery was amazing: the kind I could only admire in movies and Christmas cards before. This year though, it's what Finns call Black Christmas because of the absence of snow except for those unmelted piles here and there (and instead of snowfall, it rained a lot).

We included a little taste of Finnish Christmas in our Noche Buena dinner: bataattilaatikko (sweet potato casserole), glögi (mulled wine), and piparkakkuja (gingerbread cookies). I think my first try at making bataattilaatikko was pretty successful; it turned out delicious and of nice texture. Maybe next year, we'll be able to experience more of the traditional Finnish Christmas.

bataattilaatikko

a cup of hot glögi