New Year in Finland. How to celebrate the New Year in Finland How to celebrate the New Year in Finland with children

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New Year's Eve in snowy Finland is an incredible event. An already beautiful country is turning into a fabulous one. All cities are illuminated with multi-colored lights, everything glitters and sparkles from the facades of houses, their roofs to trees and fences. Anyone who has at least once seen how the New Year is celebrated in Finland will confidently claim that such a celebration is difficult to find in any other country.

Traditions and customs of celebrating the New Year in Finland

Those who have decided to go to Finland to celebrate the New Year should prepare for noisy parties. It is very rare for any family in the country to celebrate a holiday in a quiet family circle. Almost all the people traditionally take to the streets, go to restaurants and parties. Laughter and fun can be heard everywhere. Friends and family share memories of good events in the past year and plans for the coming one.

However, no one stays in entertainment establishments until late at night. Since there is a belief that whoever gets up early in the morning on the first of January will be cheerful and fresh for the entire next year.

How to celebrate New Year in Finland with children

This country is especially attractive for children. After all, this is the birthplace of Santa Claus. And for those who have decided to celebrate the New Year in Finland with children, it is definitely worth visiting his residence. It is located in the northern region with a fascinating name - Lapland. It is there that the main New Year's wizard is located, who tries to fulfill all the wishes of children and even adults.

You should also definitely take a sleigh ride with a horse, reindeer or even dog sled. For children, such a walk will leave indelible impressions in their memory.

Houses and cottages for the New Year in Finland

Guests have an excellent opportunity to rent cottages in Finland for the New Year 2018 at a price affordable to everyone.

Well, for those who want to feel like a snow queen or a prince in an ice kingdom, you can try living in a palace made of ice.

Finnish New Year and Christmas traditions.

In Finland, the first signs of the approaching Christmas and New Year holidays appear already at the end of October, when traditional Christmas gingerbread cookies - piparkakku - appear on sale in stores in huge quantities. Christmas is the main winter holiday, which is celebrated on the night of December 24-25. Christmas is preceded by four Advents - four Sunday days. On the first Advent, the official opening of the Christmas streets takes place; from this day on, Finland is immersed in a Christmas fairy tale: city streets, shop windows, squares and public gardens begin to sparkle and sparkle with festive illumination. Beauty! We all know that Finland is the birthplace and permanent residence of Santa Claus. In Lapland in northern Finland there is a village with the residence of Santa Claus, where he lives with his fairy-tale helpers and prepares gifts for children for Christmas and New Year throughout the year. In Finland, Santa Claus is called Joulupukki.

Christmas is traditionally a family holiday. Close relatives tend to gather together in the house of the oldest member of the family. Everyone prepares and sets the Christmas table together. By the way, among the Finns the main day is not December 25, but December 24 - Christmas Eve. In the ancient city of Turku, the former capital of Finland, on December 24 at exactly 12 o'clock the so-called Christmas world is officially and solemnly declared. The custom of declaring Christmas peace, when war and all work should cease, has its roots in ancient times, all the way back to the 13th century. Currently, the ceremony takes place in front of a huge crowd of spectators in the main square of Turku, and this ceremony is broadcast on television throughout Finland. Shops are also open only until 12 o'clock; you can have time to buy something else: gifts, food and drinks. With the announcement of the Christmas world, Finland begins to celebrate Christmas. It is on December 24 that everyone gives each other gifts and the main family feast is organized with traditional Christmas dishes and drinks: salmon and salted caviar of various fish, vinaigrette with herring, the main Christmas dish - baked ham, potato casserole, gingerbread and sweet buns, light beer and berry fruit drinks, etc. By 5 pm, Finns and their families go to the church at the cemetery, where they take part in a solemn service, and then go to the graves of their loved ones and place funeral candles there. This ritual is not sad and mournful in nature, because... everyone remembers the eternal life that Christmas represents. From the cemetery everyone returns home to a laid table and waits for Joulupukki to arrive with gifts. It is a bad omen to be alone on Christmas Day, so large family groups try to invite lonely acquaintances to their feasts. A very good custom.

The New Year's holiday in Finland is an extension of Christmas, young people usually celebrate this holiday in nightclubs, and older people at private house parties. Gifts are not given on this holiday, and the table is not set as generously as at Christmas. Sausages, potato salad, small sandwiches - canapés and, of course, champagne are served on the New Year's table. With the last twelfth stroke of the clock, everyone clinks glasses of champagne and shouts in unison: “Happy New Year!” Then everyone goes out into the street and sets off fireworks and salutes that are allowed that night until 02.00. The main fireworks display is held in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, on Senate Square, where thousands of people gather to celebrate the New Year. Happy New Year 2016 and Merry Christmas!

New Year in Finland, like a huge number of countries around the world, is celebrated on the night from December 31 to January 1. But the celebration begins long before this date. During the New Year holidays, fairy tales, mysticism and the real spirit of Christmas reign here. How could it be different? After all, this is where the real Santa Claus lives and his residence is located. Many Finnish children sincerely believe in Santa Claus, who will come on his reindeer and bring a whole bag of gifts from Lapland.

Finns respect their traditions and customs. One of such interesting and old traditions in Finland is to keep turnips from the summer harvest, which are peeled on New Year's Day, and candles are placed inside and given to children.

On the morning before the New Year, cheerful songs and ringing laughter can already be heard in all houses. On the streets, people organize an unusual torchlight procession. You will not see such beauty in any country in the world. City residents set fire to tar barrels. According to legend, by doing this, they seem to burn the old year, welcoming the new one with new opportunities, goals and dreams. One of the oldest Finnish traditions is the veneration of the dead on New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, people go to the cemetery and light candles on the graves of their loved ones as a sign of eternal memory and sincere love. On New Year's holidays, all the streets of cities and towns twinkle with bright lights. The Finns pay special attention to illumination; they decorate both New Year’s trees and houses inside and outside......

But the brightest moment of the New Year is when the clock shows twelve o'clock on the dial, all people go out into the streets and launch fireworks into the sky, shoot firecrackers, hug and wish each other happiness, health and love. Since the use of pyrotechnics is permitted by law only on this day.

As in many countries, New Year is a family holiday, it is celebrated with family. Even adults strive to spend it with their parents. Finnish youth celebrate the New Year with friends in cafes, restaurants or nightclubs. Entertainment establishments hold fun competitions and unforgettable theatrical performances that will not leave anyone indifferent and will give you a good mood and a positive charge for the whole next year. Many Finnish families and tourists from other countries travel to Lapland on December 30th. This is where the very epicenter of New Year's festivities is concentrated. Beautiful nature will take you to a New Year's fairy tale. Here you can meet the real Joulupukki, ride dog and reindeer sleds, conquer all kinds of ski slopes of any difficulty, learn to skate and ski and try real traditional Finnish dishes.

For lovers of unforgettable spectacles, a world-famous snow and ice festival is held in the town of Kemi on New Year's Day. The unusual sculptures are so realistic that it is impossible to believe that it is made of ice. But the most amazing thing is the snow hotel.

Finns pay special attention to the choice of gifts and for this purpose they hold grand New Year's markets and Christmas sales in Finland. Discounts on goods will delight any avid shopaholic, as gifts can be purchased at a huge discount, sometimes reaching 90% of the price. Therefore, people sweep away almost everything that is on the shelves, buying gifts for each family member. After all, receiving even some little thing as a gift is always nice, the main thing is that it is given with tenderness and love, from a pure heart.

As for the New Year's table in Finland, it is bursting with a varied number of dishes. Traditional potato casserole with unforgettable taste, salted salmon, ham, whitefish, gingerbread parfait and much more. Strangely enough, the traditional New Year's drink in Finland is beer. Finns try not to drink too much alcohol during the holiday, since on January 2 the working population needs to go to work. The New Year is always an expectation of a miracle; in everyone’s soul there should be faith in the fulfillment of desires and confidence that even the most trifling dream will come true.

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How to celebrate New Year in Finland

Wonderful and unique Finland is truly the most wonderful place to celebrate the New Year. If you chose this country for New Year's celebrations, you were not mistaken. You will definitely remember walks along snow-covered forest roads, miniature wooden huts in the Arctic Circle, mass celebrations in Helsinki, meeting the real Santa Claus - Joulupukki, and many other interesting things.

HOW TO CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR IN FINLAND

Large cities like Helsinki are completely immersed in a festive atmosphere on New Year's Day. New Year's illumination, crazy discounts on winter sales, lots of decorations on the streets, shop windows and trees, stunning fireworks and celebrations on Senate Square - this is something that cannot be missed when going to New Year's celebrations in this country.

HOW TO CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR IN FINLAND WITH CHILDREN

Families with children should consider an option such as Lapland, the heart of which is Rovaniemi. The famous Santa Claus Village is comfortably located there, which will be of interest to both young and adult visitors. There is also an excellent amusement park and the Rauna Arctic Zoo. In addition, dog and deer farms are always open to visitors, where everyone can go sledding and get a positive boost for a very modest fee.

HOW TO RELAX FOR THE NEW YEAR IN FINLAND

For those who want to save money, there is a cheaper option - the Levi ski resort, which is located in the west of Lapland. From here you can also get to Santa Claus using excursion routes or renting a car. Not far from Levi is the snowy village of Lainio, where you can admire the stunning beauty of ice sculptures.

WHAT'S THE WEATHER FOR NEW YEAR IN FINLAND?

Do not forget that Finnish frosts are something that often takes many inexperienced tourists by surprise. Fortunately, in this country on New Year’s Eve you can easily “arm yourself” with warm clothes at reduced prices. The weather on the eve of January in this country is very cold; sudden temperature fluctuations can be observed ranging from 10 to 20 degrees below zero. But you shouldn’t be afraid of this, since the climate of Finland is known for its mildness.

New Year's cultural program

Unlike the cozy family Christmas, which Finns traditionally celebrate at home with their families, Finland celebrates the New Year in restaurants, at social salon parties, in the company of colleagues and acquaintances. Moreover, it greets you during the day: rarely is any restaurant open until 12.00 on New Year’s Eve.

At home, Finns don’t like to bother with holiday cooking, especially overnight. The most popular, even classic New Year's treat with champagne is sausages and potato salad. Of course, not our Olivier, but simply boiled potatoes with onions, vegetable oil and vinegar. And good tasty sausages.

New Year- the only opportunity to launch a certain amount of money into the Finnish sky: it is allowed to burn firecrackers there only from 18.00 on December 31st to 6.00 am on January 1st.

Finnish New Year (as a holiday) ends early. Perhaps because an old Finnish belief says: whoever gets up early on the first day of the New Year will be cheerful and fresh all year. By the way, Finns believe that if you don’t scold children on January 1, they will be obedient all year long.

Preserved traditions

An old Finnish tradition includes fortune telling on tin. In Finland you can still buy special tin ingots. The correct blanks should be in the shape of a horseshoe, because the horseshoe itself brings happiness.

Just before the New Year, you need to remember the old year with a kind word and think about plans for the future. Wish for yourself happiness, love, money, promotion, etc. Then melt the tin in a ladle or saucepan and pour it into a bucket of cold water. Continuing to think about happiness, love, money, promotion...

The shape of the frozen tin will tell you whether your plans will come true or not. You need to interpret the future by looking at either a frozen tin figurine or its shadow on the wall from a candle flame.

You need to look carefully, twisting and turning the tin in all directions. Lace patterns for money, a heart for love, a boat for travel, a key to career advancement and strengthening authority, little men for a wedding. If molten tin in water scatters into pieces, this is a sign of sadness.

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