hyvää joulua ja onnellista uutta vuotta!

 with the Christmas break's end looming suddenly nearer, I think I had better blog about what was by far the most-hyped happening in Finish life since I got here: Christmas.

as one who has grown up Jewish and never really experienced Christmas, I expected to seem a bit like a little kid looking forward to the holiday with wonder and curiosity.  but it so turned out that everyone around me was looking forward to it as much (if not more?) than I. I have already mentioned in a previous post the way Finns start celebrating Christmas in October. I think it's a mixture of having something to brighten up the November--many have told me it is the "worst" month of the Finnish year because of the rarity of the sun and the inconsistency of snowcover and its brightening effect. personally, I had a lovely November despite (because of?) the darkness and mud.

but anyway.

Christmas is celebrated in Finland on the night of the 24th. and Joulupukki (lit. 'Christmas goat') or Santa Claus comes. compared with the American Santa, the Finnish (like with many things) does not beat about the bush. he doesn't do any sissy sneaking in through the chimney while everyone is asleep... no, he comes shamelessly to the door. in fact, he (again like many Finns) doesn't even wait for Christmas (or rather the Eve thereof). I've been seeing him around at pukkujoulut and such for at least a month. at any rate, when he comes on Christmas Eve, he is serenaded with carols and conveniently brings the presents that we lugged onto the front step into the living room. I sat on his knee and everything (there are pictures somewhere, but not here).

now if I may sidestep for a moment, this Joulupukki is an interesting character who rather tickled my curiosity. firstly, his name. Christmas goat? when I learned of this, I thought to myself: self, something is fishy. or goaty, really. also, adults are all asking small children (and me) after Christmas if they were afraid of him. afraid of Santa? as a Jew, I can't say I have much experience with Christmas, but still. very fishy. this article didn't exactly defishify the fishinesses, but it definitely appetized my curiosity. any Santa whose Wikipedia has asection dedicated to his dark side has got to come from a pretty awesome country.

the above photo was taken by Tuuli of me (in my lovely new Marimekko nightgown from äiti) shortly before I headed to the sauna on Christmas Eve. that is vasta in my hand, a bunch of birch branches that I received from my host-aunt. it is used for beating oneself with in the sauna, and it smells heavenly summerish. I never pictured myself as the type who would enjoy self-flagulation in a dark, overheated room with no windows, but I really did.

on Christmas morning we went to church at 7am (hearing the Lord's Prayer in Finnish makes me wish I was more religious) and then went sledding with the cousins, as photographed by äiti (below). now I can't speak for all of Finland, but in this family sledding is much more intense than in mine. the "slope" isn't some wide, open hill, but rather a narrow walking path that winds between the trees and requires excellent steering skills (which it seems children here are either born with or acquire by the age of five).

most of the time between Christmas and New Years I spent sleeping, walking in the snow with the pooch, sleeping, watching my room oscillate between various states of cleanliness, sleeping, visiting with friends, sleeping, shopping in the post-Christmas sales with Tuuli, sleeping, and trying not to sleep through the sunlight. I saw The Hobbit (Hobbitti) with some friends. it was my first time at the movies in Finland. tickets are ten euros. 

ten euros are tickets.

but it was definitely worth it for the double subtitles (Finnish and Swedish). ah this reminds me of the language-related post that I have still to make... but I'm kinda glad we didn't go to see it 3D because I (of course) was trying to read all the subtitles all the time and had a bit of a fantastic mental overload with the multilingual (albeit two-dimensional) experience.

on Monday we left for Jyväskylä to spend the turn of the year with some family friends in their house in the woods near said city. New Years Eve was spent between the outdoor hottub, the snow, and the sauna, with the launching of fireworks (above and below) and other such jubilation.

when we arrived home on Wednesday I was greeted by three large packages from home containing an unearthly amount of goodies. it is difficult to believe that break (which looked so long during the fall) is almost over. in retrospect, when I try to recount what I did, it doesn't sound like I did very much at all, but as it happened it felt that I was always either busy with something or busy procrastinating from something (and I still am... break isn't over yet). that's how it always seems to go here... boredom is quite honestly something I have yet to experience this side of the pond.

a very happy 2013 to you all, and thank you for reading my increasingly syntaxless rambles.