Creme de Citron
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT
  • LIFESTYLE
  • TRAVEL
    • AMERICA
    • ASIA
    • EUROPE
    • OCEANIA
  • FOOD
    • EAT >
      • SAVOURY
      • SWEET
    • DRINK
  • SHOP
    • PRINTS

Hyvää Joulua! Christmas in Finland

25/11/2012

9 Comments

 
Click HERE for the recipes
Christmas in Finland
With the temperature lowering a lot these days and Christmas being only 30 sleeps away, I think it is the perfect day to introduce you to a Finnish Christmas.
I contacted my Finnish friend Sanna a little while back to ask her about what she would do on Christmas day in Finland.
I met Sanna a year and a half ago when we were both taking a short evening class on portrait photography in Melbourne, Australia. She lives in Melbourne with her husband and little boy. She is a really great photographer, you can see her work on her website here and her blog here.
Having lived in Australia for three years, I can tell you that it makes a huge difference to spend Christmas in Summer. So imagine being from Finland and not having a decent Winter landscape on the day!
Despite the fact that she really misses her Finnish Christmas (and I know it is quite overwhelming to think about it when you live so far away), Sanna was very happy to share her memories of Christmas with me and you.

So, let's have a Finnish Christmas!
On 23rd December, the Christmas tree is brought indoors and this is when the celebration really starts. Sanna and her family drink glögi (mulled wine) and eat gingerbread while they decorate the tree.

On Christmas Eve, they have riisipuuro (rice porridge) for breakfast and Sanna's mother usually puts a blanched almond into the porridge pot. The person who finds the almond can make a wish. The rice porridge is served warm with a knob of butter or a dash of milk, a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon powder on top. It can also be served with a fruit soup (or compote). You would usually find bilberries in it (it is a fruit similar to blueberries, only smaller and sourer; its flesh is red or purple and usually taints the mouth of whoever eats it).
At midday, Christmas peace is declared in Finland (you can read it here). Sanna and her family would usually watch it on the television or listen to it on the radio.
They spend the rest of the day preparing the food and listening to Christmas carols. If the temperature outside is below zero degree Celsius, they like to make ice lanterns.
The main meal of a Finnish Christmas is the Christmas Eve dinner.
They start with rosolli. It is a beetroot salad with a cream dressing. They serve it with pickled herring. In Sanna's family, the pickled herring is homemade with onion or mustard. They also have some smoked salmon with dill and lemon, and boiled potatoes.
Then, they eat kinkku and luumukastike (ham and prune gravy). It is served with lanttulaatikko (a swede casserole), porkkanalaatikko (a carrot casserole) and imelletty perunalaatikko (a potato casserole).
The casseroles are a very important part of the Finnish Christmas dinner. Sanna's family normally buys the swede and carrot casseroles ready made in the supermarket (as they can find it made really well there), but the potato casserole is homemade. The reason for that is that they use Sanna's grandmother's recipe in which the casserole is sweetened.
For dessert, they then drink coffee and eat prune tarts and chocolates.

After dinner, they all open their presents. Families that have young children hire a Santa who will visit them and bring the gifts.
The rest of the evening is spent playing boardgames, reading books or just enjoying some time together.

On Christmas day itself, Sanna and her family like to sleep in late, and getting up only to eat chocolates and leftovers. They will also go out a bit to make snowmen and have a nice walk, but Christmas day is all about resting and relaxing.

All I could dream of after hearing about Sanna's Finnish Christmas was to one day spend Christmas in Finland. I think that the traditions and the weather there make it very special and lovely.

I decided to adapt two Finnish Christmas dishes. So keep scrolling down and you will find a recipe for a Finnish Christmas breakfast and a recipe for a Finnish Christmas starter. The gingerbread recipe is here as a little gift so you make it and enjoy it while decorating your Christmas tree.

Gluten Free Gingerbread Dough Recipe
Click HERE for the recipes
Finnish Christmas Breakfast With Mulled Wine Fruit Compote Recipe
Finnish Christmas Rosolli Salad With Smoked Salmon Recipe
9 Comments
Cuisine Genie link
25/11/2012 11:21:10

Beautiful photos Yolène! I'm going to pass the gingerbread recipe onto my cousin who's a coeliac, they look fab :-)

Reply
Yolène link
25/11/2012 11:26:45

Thanks L.! I'm always so glad my gluten free recipes can help someone.

Reply
Alain
26/11/2012 17:22:23

Toujours aussi appétissant et c'est super pour les personnes allergiques au gluten

Reply
Deirdre O'Connell
27/11/2012 13:20:43

I'm really enjoying your blog! It's interesting to hear how other cultures and foodies celebrate the holidays.

Reply
Yolène link
28/11/2012 13:17:28

Thanks Deirdre!! Yes, it is great to hear about everybody else's traditions for Christmas, I had a great time hearing all the stories before putting them down on 'paper'.

Reply
French Foodie link
29/11/2012 03:10:43

Ah, ca met l'eau a la bouche ces photos! It's lovely to learn about the Finnish culture. The food looks delish. Can't wait for the next next one!

Reply
Yolène link
29/11/2012 04:23:28

Merci K.! I really hope I get to spend Christmas in Finland one day, sounds so great (plus, I could make a little detour via Lapland and meet Santa's elves :) ).

Reply
The Dublin Diary link
11/12/2012 02:32:41

Lovely pictures, very interesting too!

Reply
Yolène link
11/12/2012 03:17:13

Thank you! This Finnish Christmas is attracting a lot of people! I really want to go to Finland, I hope 'someone' reads that :)

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Hello! I’m Yolene, a French blogger based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
    Welcome to my blog Crème de Citron. This is where I share lifestyle, travel and food stories.

    Copyright © Yolene Dabreteau, unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved.
    Content and images cannot be used without my permission.



    CATEGORIES

    All
    America
    Asia
    Autumn
    Beverage
    Christmas
    Dessert
    Europe
    It's Saturday!
    Lifestyle
    Oceania
    Recipe
    Savoury
    Sweet
    Travel
    Winter

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

Content, text and photography are protected by Copyright © Yolène Dabreteau - All rights reserved.