Christmas Spirit: How Finns Celebrate Winter Holidays

Program

Christmas in the land of Santa Claus is the most genuine Christmas of all! Despite the fact that Santa Claus himself greets guests in Rovaniemi, beyond the Arctic Circle, and we will meet in Helsinki, it will not hinder us from strolling through the fairs, admiring and buying traditional Finnish winter souvenirs, eating hot salmon soup with cream in the cold, drinking fragrant 'glögi' – the Finnish version of mulled wine, enjoying the festive lights and the magical country in the shop window of the 'Stockmann' department store.

I will tell you about the traditions of the Finns: how they celebrate Christmas and New Year, what they prepare for the festive table, share recipes. After a walk through the incredibly beautiful festively decorated streets and quarters of old Helsinki, we will go to the shore of the cold winter sea and warm ourselves with hot coffee, glögi, or tea with cookies.

Depending on the time of your stay in Helsinki, I will find festive events taking place in the city at that moment, and we will definitely visit them. It can be the main Christmas fair, a light show in the central square of the city, or something else.

If you want to immerse yourself deeper into the atmosphere of winter Finland, we can take a short trip to the old town of Porvoo, just 50 minutes drive from Helsinki. On the way, we will see country houses with cozy glowing windows standing in snow-covered fields, and old manors that look like they came out of postcards. We can bring a thermos with something hot and fragrant and enjoy both the taste and the view from the window. In Porvoo itself, time seems to have stopped – there you will definitely feel like characters of a Christmas fairy tale, as the atmosphere is so full of the anticipation of the holiday and magic.