10 Finnish Christmas Traditions to Enjoy with Kids
Christmas is one of the most important celebrations of the year in Finland. It is a magical time filled with unique traditions that make the holiday season extra special. If you’re looking to create wonderful memories with your children during the Christmas season, here are ten Finnish Christmas customs that you can try with your kids for a memorable and heartwarming holiday season.
1. Advent calendar (Joulukalenteri)
The advent calendar tradition only arrived in Finland in the 1940s, but today it is an important part of the preparation for Christmas. It’s a great way to make December a special time. Start the Christmas countdown with an advent calendar and let your kids open a new window. Every year there are new commercial options available with chocolates, candies, toys… But you can always add extra fun by making your own advent calendar.
2. Decorate a Christmas tree with your own decorations
Kids love doing crafts and there’s nothing more special than a Christmas tree decorated with the unique artworks from your little ones. So instead of purchasing expensive decorations, get your children to express their creativity and create their own Christmas decorations.
3. Call Santa Claus (Joulupukki)
Every year, Yle broadcasts its traditional Christmas Eve morning show featuring the one and only Joulupukki and his elves, as they prepare for the busy night ahead. During the show, kids from all over Finland can call Santa’s Hot Line and speak directly with Santa. The program is shown on Yle channel 2 and has been broadcast continuously since 1991 bringing children’s Christmas joy and enthusiasm to nearly 600,000 viewers every year. It’s very entertaining to watch as children tell funny stories to Santa, or sing Christmas carols. It is also possible to send photos or messages to your loved ones so they are displayed on the screen during the show.
4. Visit a Christmas market (Joulutori/Joulumarkkinat)
Most Finnish cities offer some kind of Christmas market which is a great opportunity to lighten up the dark days with some festive lights, warm glögi, and a variety of activities for the whole family. Usually, the celebrations begin with the illumination of Christmas lights and activities include markets, concerts, special church services, and the possibility to try traditional Christmas foods.
5. Try to find the almond on your rice porridge
One of the most popular Finnish Christmas foods is rice porridge (riisipuuro). And it’s a tradition to hide a single almond in a pan of porridge and the one who gets to find it in their plate is promised good luck. Rice porridge is usually eaten with cinnamon and sugar, but it is also common to eat it with plum kissel (luumukisseli).
6. Watch the Snowman
The Snowman is a classic British animated film that was first shown on 26 of December 1982 and has since amassed a large following in Finland. This is a sweet, heartwarming story about the friendship between a boy and a snowman. It might bring some tears, but it’s definitely worth watching with your kids and keep a tradition of doing it every Christmas like many Finns have been doing since the movie first aired.
7. Sing Finnish Christmas Carols
A good way to practice Finnish if that’s not the first language in your home is by singing Christmas carols. Listening and singing Christmas carols is an annual tradition for many Finns, especially children. It’s also possible to join public events organized by churches or other groups where people gather to sing and listen together.
8. Build a gingerbread house
From selecting candy decorations to frosting the walls, building a gingerbread house is a fun activity that sparks children’s imagination and helps the smaller ones to develop fine motor skills while having fun. After spending time having fun and bonding with your family, you can use the gingerbread house as a festive centerpiece, filling the home with a warm aroma and adding to the anticipation of Christmas.
9. Enjoy Christmas Peace (Joulurauha)
The declaration of Christmas peace has been read in Turku, the oldest and third-largest city in Finland, as an almost unbroken tradition for 700 years, since the 14th century. In essence, the message calls for harmony and grace, and the people from Finland truly take its spirit to heart and spend the festive season harmoniously. Christmas peace is declared at noon on Christmas Eve and has been broadcast live since 1935.
10. Warm up on Christmas sauna
No Finnish Christmas is complete without sauna. The Christmas sauna was once the most important tradition of Christmas and unlike other occasions, in Christmas it is common to have a morning sauna. There are some old beliefs associated to the Christmas sauna, for example, that there must be silence in the sauna otherwise mosquitoes will attack you in the following summer. In several housing associations, it is customary to offer residents a free Christmas sauna on Christmas Eve. Christmas sauna shifts are either for families or men and women have their own shift.
