Swedish and Finnish Christmas Traditions of the Past
Hey everyone! Merry Christmas! There are only three more days until Christmas Eve when most Scandinavians celebrate Christmas. For some people this means a frantic rush to get all of their tasks done and their stress levels are through the roof. For others this means a time to anticipate good food, good company, and good fun! I hope you’re not letting the stress take over and that no matter what happens you remember what really matters this time of year. In addition, I’m taking the next couple of weeks off for the holidays. So there won’t be a post from me until Jan. 4th. I hope that won’t crush you too much!
Anyway, I want to finish telling you about the old Swedish and Finnish Christmas traditions that we may or may not still do today.
Sweden
1. The Christmas Table
People celebrated Christmas and the Winter Solstice with food and drink. Some of their food was ham, pickled herring, pig’s feet, sausage, rice porridge, and lutfisk. The food was then left on the table overnight, for the dead that came to have their own feast.
2. Christmas Gifts
Originally, gifts were given as a joke. People would often wrap up a log and playfully throw it through another’s front door. It wasn’t until the 1900’s that people gave real gifts given by Santa Claus.
3. Christmas Day Church Service
At the early morning church service, traces of earth could be seen in the pews where the dead had held their own service overnight. After the service, people would race each other home to see who would get home first. The winner would harvest his crops before anyone else that year.
4. Star Boys
Twelfth Night honors the arrival of the Three Wise Men in Bethlehem. The Star Boys symbolize this event. Boys would go from farm to farm carrying paper stars. They would sing songs in return for schnapps. Today they are a part of the St. Lucia celebration.
Finland
1. Kekri
This harvest festival, usually held in November, has influenced the old Finnish Christmas. The Christmas goat, feeding small birds with an oat sheaf, and straw decorations all have sources found in this harvest festival.
2. The Christmas Sauna
Every Scandinavian country has their own Christmas cleansing traditions such as cleaning the house and barn, bathing, and putting new straw on the floors. However, the Finnish tradition is to have a Christmas sauna. People washed in the Christmas sauna before the festivities and food and drink gifts were left there for the elf.
3. Visiting Cemeteries
Again, this is common among many Scandinavian countries. The Finns would light candles on family graves starting in the 1900s. Then they started lighting candles for fallen soldiers after the Winter War, which was a local military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland during World War II. They would also leave presents for the dead on Christmas.
4. The Declaration of Christmas Peace
This declaration has been done since the Middle Ages. Today they have a ceremony at noon on Christmas Eve that begins with a hymn played by the Finnish Navy band, then a male choir, then someone reads from a parchment roll in both Finnish and Swedish the Declaration of Christmas Peace. The declaration states that on Christmas day everyone should make a special effort not to break the law and to observe the holiday with reverence and to peacefully conduct themselves. If they don’t, then the law already in place for that offense will penalize them.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_traditions#Finland, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_Finland
Aren’t these traditions fascinating! I’m always curious about how a tradition gets its start. This gives meaning to the many traditions we still practice today. Knowing the old traditions gives us a glimpse into what people valued back then. Again, it shows a connection to the past that we would otherwise forget about. It’s important to know the past traditions to understand today’s traditions.
For this Christmas season, I hope we all remember why we do what we do. There really is a reason for the season. Please take a moment to appreciate the people around you as they really are and not how you want them to be including yourself. The overall reason I found as I was researching these countries was the need for family, belonging, and connection. That’s why we do what we do. We all want that connection and to build those family bonds. Therefore, don’t let all of the craziness get in the way of what’s most important. Let yourself just be grateful and full of love for what you already have and for whom you already are and let the other pieces of your life fall where they may. So Enjoy! Have a Merry Christmas!
Good luck and happy hunting!
Tiffany