Christmas in Finland
"Hauskaa Joulua"
In Finland Christmas trees are put up in the house on the day before Christmas Eve. Then they put golden nuts, apples, angels, paper baskets and tinsel, and candles on. A star is put on top of the tree and "tomtar" (or tomte men) underneath.
Tomtar are friendly red-coated gnomes. They live in Lapland in the far north of Finland with Father Christmas. They help him to prepare and deliver the presents on Christmas Eve. They also keep an eye on the children to see if they are being good or naughty.
In Finland, for Christmas dinner, they have turkey or ham, potatoes and swede. The grown-ups have caviar. Later the family will eat gingerbread biscuits and Christmas tarts.
The Finns also give animals treats at Christmas time. They get a sheaf of grain and tie it to a pole for the birds to eat. Some Finnish people will not eat their Christmas dinner until the birds have been fed.
