Sparkling snow, cracking frost and picturesque atmosphere of Finland makes the New Year special. Shortly before New Year's Eve, Christmas is celebrated, which is celebrated on December 25. On this day the Finns give gifts and arrange a magnificent holiday. The New Year celebration is more modest. Nevertheless, the Finns have very interesting and entertaining traditions.

  • Ignition of barrels with tar

This fun is connected with getting rid of all the failures of last year and the beginning of a new path. The action is very interesting, bright and noisy: the barrels engulfed by the playing flame crack, explode and fly apart.

  • Fortune-telling on tin

This tradition appeared in ancient times. On New Year's Eve Finns melt the tin on fire, and then pour out into cold water. Metal solidifies and takes a certain shape. In it, you can see the future for the coming year: for example, the heart shape speaks of love, and the boat - about the soonest journey.

  • Fireworks

Ironically, fireworks from the Finns are associated with the New Year, and the whole point is that this is one of the few days of the year when they are allowed. Therefore, while storing firecrackers and other pyrotechnics for a year, people spit out all the energy, arranging luxurious salutes the night away. The sky at this time is colored with all the colors of the rainbow.

  • Festive illumination

Decorate the house, the courtyard, boutiques and shops, squares and public gardens with sparkling lights is the holy duty of every Finn. Walking along the street and stepping on the snow, which plays and shimmers in thousands of shades, as if you get into a fairy tale.

  • Snow and Ice Festival

Annually collects the best masters and thousands of visitors, presenting an amazing world of bizarre and skilful sculptures. Guests are invited to stay in an ice room or hotel out of ice, to taste cocktails from ice glasses and desserts from ice plates. Pleasure is not cheap, but the impression is worth it.

Family traditions and meeting with Joulupukki

Most Finns prefer to spend the New Year with their families. Some go to restaurants, others, on the contrary, arrange a feast at home. In terms of the scale of the celebration, perhaps, is inferior to the Russian, which is associated with entering the work already on January 2.
The festive table looks very modest. It does not have a dozen kinds of salads, intricate fish and meat delicacies, which Russian masters do not cease to amaze. The main dishes of the Finnish New Year holiday are regular sausages and potato salad, in which only two ingredients - potatoes and onions. A traditional drink is not champagne, although it is also drunk, and light beer.


But the most wonderful tradition of local, which no country can boast of - a trip to Lapland to Yolupukki, as they call Santa Claus. Getting into a fairy-tale country beloved since childhood, permeated with its atmosphere, one can not help realizing that everyone believes in an old fairy tale - regardless of age. In the homeland of Joulupukki, the festivities in honor of the New Year begin on December 30, and thousands of residents and guests of the country become their participants. Here is where to find the real spirit of the New Year!


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