A Strange Recollection of Christmas In Finland

A smoke sauna in Enonkoski.

       "Christmas in Finland begins with a bath. First the house is thoroughly cleaned, even washed. Then, as a part of the Christmas Eve preparations, the entire family takes a Finnish bath, known as the sauna. Perhaps steaming is a better description, for the traditional Finnish bathhouse is a separate building with three rooms. In one room are placed stones that have been heated until red-hot, and then water is poured over them to fill the room with steam. The next room is for rubbing, and the bather uses a small switch of birch twigs to strike the body and increase circulation. Before entering the third room for dressing the bather takes a roll in the snow for further stimulation. 

       Once everyone has enjoyed this traditional sauna, a light meal of barley porridge and almonds, with cream and sugar, fish, and prune tarts, ends the fasting. It is said that during this meal it is possible to see visions – the person one will marry during the coming year, or, if one looks out the window, someone who will die during the coming year. But this gift is reserved only for a few, and they must fast the whole day before, which may account for these apparitions. 

       Suspended from the ceiling over the dining table is a light wooden framework, covered with straw to symbolize the stable where Christ was born. Paper stars are hung from this fixture, and these, reflecting the light of the lamps and fire below, give a suggestion of the night sky as the family eats its simple meal. 

       Following supper, there used to be wrestling matches by the men on a straw-covered floor, on which the children would later sleep in imitation of the Christ Child. The women would blacken their faces and, dressed in men's clothes, visit their neighbors. No words were spoken on this occasion, nor would they accept any food. This odd custom was a commemoration of the Moorish Wise Man. 

       On Christmas day, the church services were held at dawn. Horse-drawn sleighs would carry the family groups to church making a wonderful sound as they sped over the crisp snow. It was customary to attach as many bells as possible to the sleigh for this occasion and the countryside itself seems to jingle merrily as the faithful gathered for the service. Each house on the way blazed with light from the candles placed in every window. 

       Following church, the sleighs raced home for the Christmas meal of ham or roast suckling pig with Lingenberry relish and other favorite foods. Dessert was a rice pudding with a single almond, and the one who found this in his portion could expect good luck during the coming year. 

       It is "Father Christmas" who generally brings the children their presents, but in some parts of Finland he is known as Wainamoinen from Kalevala folklore, or again as Ukko. He is represented as an old man with a long white mustache, a white peaked cap with blue trim, and a red coat. The legend of Wainamoinen is believed to have served as the prototype which Longfellow immortalized in his poem of Hiawatha . . . "

Christmas Traditions in Modern 

Finland by Sanna Vaara