As we count down the 12 days to Christmas, Irish blogger Jeanette Levis, aka Lady Peach, embraces the Finnish festive season in Helsinki.
There’s a real sense of magic as you wander the streets of Helsinki at Christmas time. Unlike the flickering multicoloured lights and plastic decorations crammed into most homes and shop fronts around Ireland, the Finns use natural materials and colours such wood, straw, clay, wool and cones. Households hang decorated wreaths on doors and place light paper stars or Christmas lights of various shapes in windows.
Christmas feels less commercial, though Father Christmas or joulupukki still visits children on December 24th as he does in Ireland. As well as church services and delicious food, Finnish families celebrate Christmas Day by going for a sauna!
The snow has yet to arrive in Helsinki, but you can still go ice-skating. An artificial ice rink opened in early December in the Central Railway Station Square.
Aleksanterinkatu, the main shopping street, becomes Helsinki’s official Christmas Street from the last week of November; the traditional Christmas lights have been lit every year since the 1930’s. Just the Brown Thomas Christmas window display on Grafton Street is a focal point for Dublin shoppers, Helsinki shoppers gaze at those of Stockmann, the largest department store in Finland.
However, markets are big part of Christmas shopping. The market season kicks off at the start of December with the Woman’s Christmas Fair at the Old Harbour (Vanha Satama).
The St Thomas market in Helsinki is the biggest Christmas market in Finland. The vendors sell a range of handmade crafts and baked goods from red wooden stalls.
Here you can find unique Christmas gifts, sip on “glögi” the Finnish version of mulled wine or taste Christmas treats like gingerbreads “piparkakku”. Santa Claus also makes an appearance at weekends.
