What are the traditions that make Christmas in the Nordic countries special? Here are four of our favourites, as described for you by some of STP鈥檚 resident Danes, Finns, Norwegians and Swedes.
鈥In Sweden, Santa comes around dinner time on the 24th. If there鈥檚 no kind neighbour around to play Santa, like my grandad used to for local families, the father usually 鈥榞oes out to buy a newspaper鈥. While he鈥檚 gone, Santa appears, knocks on the door and asks if there are any good little children in the house.鈥
Pia Andersson, Swedish translator
鈥In Finland, we go to a cemetery on Christmas Eve and light candles for loved ones who have passed away. Every cemetery has a memorial stone or other dedicated place for those who are buried elsewhere. A snow-covered graveyard with hundreds of candles really is quite a sight.鈥
Martta聽M盲kinen, Finnish account linguist
鈥In Norway, there鈥檚 an old tradition of putting a bowl of porridge outside the door, supposedly for the 鈥榥isse鈥 (a gnome-like creature from Nordic folklore). There鈥檚 even a festive song called (the nisse is in the barn) about mice trying to eat the nisse鈥檚 Christmas porridge.鈥
Hanne Morken, Norwegian translator
“On Christmas Eve in Denmark, we eat risalamande:聽rice pudding with whipped cream, chopped almonds and cherry sauce. It contains one whole almond, and whoever gets it wins a prize. The winner usually keeps it quiet, thus forcing the rest of the diners to eat silly amounts of dessert.”
Bjarke Andersen, Danish account linguist
Whichever traditions you follow, and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, all of us at STP wish you a happy, healthy and peaceful end to 2016, and a prosperous new year ahead.
