Christmas is the time of giving, togetherness, and food. This blog, however, is all about the food. Traditional Finnish Christmas feast is an inclusive multi-course experience to all senses, which formerly aimed to be the very best meal of the whole year. It’s the season when no one’s allowed to count calories and eating round the clock is considered completely normal. You can read my previous blog about other Christmas traditions here.
Christmas table
Traditional Finnish Christmas day usually starts with rice porridge in the morning, which is also called Christmas porridge, since it isn’t usually eaten outside of Christmas season. Lunch and dinner is a buffet, which includes several casseroles, such as potato, carrot, beetroot, liver and turnip. Different fish in many forms are also very popular, as well as salads, Karelian hot pot, and different types of bread. However, the most important dish is the Christmas ham.
It needs to be prepared in the oven for several hours, preferably overnight, to reach the perfect temperature and texture. It’s always served with mustard and enjoyed with the rest of Christmas foods. If there’s leftover ham after everything else is gone, it’s brilliant on bread, for example. Most of Finns prefer to spend Christmas at home, but it’s also the busiest tourism season, especially in Lapland. Therefore, there are plenty of places to have Christmas food if you’re traveling.
Dessert & drinks
Everyone who loves dessert, should love Christmas. There are so many options to choose from, and some of them are usually available for weeks before the holidays. The most popular ones available everywhere are gingerbread and Christmas tarts, which tastes the best with glogg/mulled wine or coffee. Finns tend to drink glogg without alcohol, and you can buy it from every grocery store and café. However, it’s not totally unusual to have some spiked glogg, or other special Christmas drinks with alcohol in it. Chocolate is also very popular during Christmas, and the selection gets huge by the end of November with many flavors available only during this time of the year. Many schools, companies and groups have pre-Christmas gatherings as a way of saying thank you for the past year’s work and accomplishments, as well as spending time together before people go to their homes and families for the holidays.
Finnish longer-term traditions include visiting the Christmas sauna and church, visiting the cemetery on the eve, listening to Christmas carols, opening the Christmas calendar, lighting Advent candles, searching for a Christmas tree, decorating the home, visit of Santa Claus and enjoying traditional food with the ...
Finnish longer-term traditions include visiting the Christmas sauna and church, visiting the cemetery on the eve, listening to Christmas carols, opening the Christmas calendar, lighting Advent candles, searching for a Christmas tree, decorating the home, visit of Santa Claus and enjoying traditional food with the ...
With Father Christmas preparing for the season, we spoke with one of his elves to learn more about Santa Claus, or joulupukki, as he's called in Finland.
In Finland, Santa Claus is known as 'Joulupukki,' which means 'Christmas goat.' According to Finnish folklore, Joulupukki is a magical, bearded man who lives in the forest with his wife, the 'Yule Goat. ' Joulupukki and the Yule Goat visit homes on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to good children.
The name joulupukki literally means 'Christmas goat' or 'Yule goat' in Finnish; the word pukki comes from the Germanic root bock, a cognate of English "buck", meaning 'billy-goat'. An old Nordic folk tradition, the figure is now often conflated with Santa Claus. Joulupukki and his wife.
Some prefer it with a fruit broth known as “fruit soup.” Traditionally an almond is hidden in the pot of porridge. Whoever finds the almond in her or his serving gets to make a wish. Sometimes rice porridge is served for breakfast.
Glögi is the Finnish version of mulled wine, known as glögg in other Scandinavian countries and Glühwein in German-speaking areas. The Dillemuths have created a distinctive Hvitträsk version of the drink, based around blueberries.
The himmeli, the quintessential Finnish Christmas decoration, combines elements of geometry and architecture into graceful patterns and shadows. The himmeli, a traditional Finnish holiday decoration made out of straw, remains popular today.
Finns are naturally curious and experimental, especially when it comes down to our favorite ingredients. Finland is the number one country in oat research and innovations, and the second biggest oat exporter in the world. Oats lower the cholesterol level, keep the blood sugar level low, and support good health.
Finland starts celebrating joulu (Christmas in Finnish) on the 24th of December. This is the time when families reunite and enjoy the holidays together. Already on the evening of the 23rd people start to cook for joulupöytä (Christmas table).
Known as the Julbord (Christmas Table) you will find a buffet typically consisting of cold cuts of meat and fish along with breads and cheeses, pickles and the obligatory beetroot salad.
The Christmas season in Finland begins on the Saturday before Advent, known as Little Christmas. This is the day the Christmas lights are turned on. Offices hold parties and in the homes families set up a little Christmas tree with little gifts for the children.
Introduction: My name is Dr. Pierre Goyette, I am a enchanting, powerful, jolly, rich, graceful, colorful, zany person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Dessert & drinks
Dessert & drinks
