We started everything with "glögi".
That warmed wine with spices (cinnamon (surely), clove (probably),
cardemon (quite likely), and other spices). That gives the Christmas-smell.
So, we don't drink any egg-noggs!Mostly this page is directed to foreigners: give them some faint glimpse of our traditions. I don't even imagine, that I could give some broad view of it...
Very many decorations are made of
straw. But only handpicked straw is good. Modern heavy agriculture-machines
destroy the straw. But okay...
Everything starts usually with sauna. About 3PM in 24th or so. But I had that in the 23th in my own sauna. Okay, I admit that real purists think, the it should be warmed with wood. I admit, that is better. But...
It was really close, that my Helmi-cat would have been in sauna,
too. But she managed to escape. Afterwards she went to löyly-room.
So heavenly warm place!
Our "big day" is December the 24th. Very usually (in most countries), the night between 24th and 25th. But not here.
The weather was rather good (I speak about Celsius all the
time)! The temperature varied between zero and minus two and a
half. So, the small amount (much less than one centimetre, maybe
a quarter-inch) of snow remained here. We had no rain in 24th.
But then some in 25th.
We started everything with "glögi".
That warmed wine with spices (cinnamon (surely), clove (probably),
cardemon (quite likely), and other spices). That gives the Christmas-smell.
So, we don't drink any egg-noggs!
Sitting is my niece, Tuuli.
And then biscuits, cakes. And Christmas-speciality is ours 'joulutorttu'. But very delicious!
'Joulutorttu'
(maybe the suitable translation is plum tart) looks like this.
In the middle there is plum jam. And the whole thing is done out
of puff pastry.
That isn't very sweet thing. But the delicious puff pastry!
Both cats (my cat 'Helmi' and
my parents' cat 'Nilla') went quite immediately to bed. And started
intensive sleeping: They knew the whole idea of Christmas.
Then the first things (or how
one calls those). Mainly fish. Baltic herring. Herring. Raw salmon
(Yes, really! I had sandwich of that, when I made this page, delicious!
(I try to explain it! One takes the fillet of a salmon.
And then puts salt to it. Let it lie for a day or so. Then it's
ready!)). Russian salad. 'Rosolli' (A salad made of beet roots,
potatoes (maybe), boiled carrots, apples, sometimes herring, onion,
pickled cucumber and dressing to it (whipped cream, vinegar and
soured cream colored with beet roots)).
In table we remembered, that usually we have reindeer. Thin,
very thin slices of it. But not this time. No problem!
The main thing in it is the
ham. Extremely big (about 10 kg (that means something like 20lb)).
We had only very small one, because we ate turkey. Both
were carved in kitchen - very much more useful to do that there.
Then there's swede casserole, and carrot casserole. Baked peas.
'Rosolli'. Think something, it's there...
Santa Claus. We call him as 'joulupukki'.
And that he lives at 'Korvatunturi'. That's some kind of mountain
here. And located in North-East Finland, very near to Russian
border.
Traditionally Santa is clothed in quite gray outfit. One should remember that "red & white" outfit is totally made up in Coca-cola marketing division! Exceptionally good way to advertise everywhere their brand!!
Children wait that instance with fear and joy. Fear if they had been too "bad". Joy for waiting the "great moment". And my father missed it all!
Child is my nephew (Pauli). Everything went well - at least
Pauli said, he got too many presents (he must have been
ill to give that sort of statement voluntarily)!!!