A Letter From Santa

I just have to share this. The Finnish postal service is offering something special this year: a letter from Santa Claus. Best of all, you can order it from anywhere in the world. Here's the info from the Posti online store:

 

A letter from Santa Claus - What a great gift! 

Receiving a personal letter is a special occasion for any child. If the letter should come from Santa Claus himself, it will obviously be extra special. 

Santa Claus writes his letters at Santa Claus’ Post office. Each letter is sealed with a Christmas stamp and with the Arctic Circle postmark. 

With each letter, Santa Claus will enclose a certificate of niceness and a postcard to colour in. 

The letters are available in 13 different languages, so you can surprise children or friends all over the world. The letter is personalised, addressing the recipient by his/her first name. 

Place your orders to European countries by December 7th and other countries as early as December 1st. Orders to Finland can be placed by December 14th. 

The language options for the letter are Finnish, Swedish, English, German, Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian and Dutch and recently also in Portuguese and Polish!

How cool is that? This will make quite a few little ones very happy.

Merry Christmas!

To everybody celebrating Christmas today, have a good one, and happy holidays to those who don't.

My friend Heli asked for a story for Christmas, and here it is. I don't think she'll mind that I shared it with you guys, too.  So this one's for you, Heli. I hope you like it.

Ghosts for Christmas

  

The ghosts arrived promptly at midnight, Earth Sector Three time.  They crowded around the table and examined the offerings set out on it, ignoring the young woman and toddler asleep on the bed in the corner of the room.

Granny Sanelma pushed her tarnished spectacles onto her forehead and brought a gingerbread cookie close to one eye for closer examination.

“This isn’t right, not right at all,” she said, giving the cookie a prim sniff.

Aunt Terhi rolled her eyes, making her cat-eye glasses slide down her nose. “Stop showing off, Grandma. Just because you can move objects--”

   Old uncle Talneli dropped the ghost of a raisin bun he had been gumming. “But she’s right. Worse than cardboard, this is. In my day we used to have proper Christmases, fresh straw on the floor, salted ham, creamy rice porridge with plenty of butter . . . These youngsters have no respect for tradition.”

“Not even a Christmas tree!” Granny Sanelma said, dropping the cookie to the floor. “And just one candle. Oh, I used to have dozens and dozens of them, and the ice lanterns . . . “

“What is this place?” Aunt Terhi asked, examining the strange, humming walls of the room. “There’s no kitchen, and what are all these blinking lights? Just look at those overalls. Do you suppose they’re some kind of pajamas?” She peered out from between the half-closed curtains.  They were of a heavy, slippery material, like the dresses she used to wear in the sixties. “How strange. Granny, can you open these?

When Sanelma slid the drapes open they both gasped.

“Stars! Stars everywhere! What is this place? Oh, I feel faint,” Sanelma said, backing away from the porthole.

Jasmin appeared, her surly teenage face twisted in a scowl. “Jeez, you’re old.” She strode over to the porthole and snapped her ghostly, grey gum with a loud pop. “We’re obviously in space, you old retards. Haven’t you seen Star Trek?”

Sanelma pulled out a fan of black lace and sank on something resembling a couch, fanning herself with quick, trembling movements.

Aunt Terhi still looked out the porthole, staring into the void. The velvet darkness fascinated her, invited her to fall towards the distant suns like silver sparklers in the deep. She forced herself to turn back to the others.  She was the responsible one; she should take charge. “You mean we’re not on Earth anymore? How will we get back?”

Jasmin was busy digging through the drawers that slid out of the wall. “I don’t care.  I don’t want to go home. Just look at this stuff.” She held a maroon jumpsuit up against herself, making her face appear even paler than it was. “This is so rad. I wish I had my iPhone.”

Maybe Jasmin was right? What harm would there be in exploring a little? Terhi sat next to Sanelma and tried to help her calm down. “Come, let’s have another look. It’s beautiful out there.”

“No. I am staying right here.” Sanelma crossed her arms, tucking the fan into her armpit.

 “What about them? You always want to get to know the relatives.” Terhi pointed at the woman and child.

Sanelma’s expression softened and she smiled, revealing a pearly-white set of false teeth.  She bustled over to the bed. “Oh yes, my great-great-great-grandniece and her son.  Your lot were always too adventurous for their own good, Taneli.”

Old Taneli’s face scrunched up like he had just bitten into a lemon. “At least my relatives are here now, the last of us. Looks like your line’s died out. Maybe they were too careful. Died of boredom, I gather.”

“Why you old coot--”

“The child looks just like you, Taneli,” Terhi said, trying to stop the argument. She smoothed a lock of hair off the child’s reddened cheek.

The toddler stirred, opened one eye, then the other, and yawned. Watching the ghosts curiously, he slid off the bed and crawled towards them.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Uncle Taneli croaked, backing away as the boy approached, brandishing his gnarled cane at the toddler.

“He’s kinda cute,” Jasmin said and tickled the boy’s nose with her black feather boa. The boy giggled and then crawled toward the table, where he proceeded to tug at the tablecloth.

“I remember Christmases at your mother’s house. You used to do that, too,” Terhi said, smiling at Jasmin.

“You could have stopped me. That’s how I got the scar on my shoulder.” Jasmin pulled down the sleeve or her lacy top and revealed three shiny, round scars like teardrops.

“Oh yes, you pulled down the candle.”

“The candle! We gotta stop the kid. Fire’s really dangerous in space!” Jasmin said.  She grabbed at the kid, but her hand went right through him. It happened a lot when she was too excited or nervous to concentrate.

“Sanelma, get him!” Terhi yelled. What would happen if their last relatives died? Where would they go to celebrate Christmas? Or would they be stuck in their graves forever? An eternity without anyone to talk to. She’d take Sanelma’s complaining over that any day.

The candle wobbled, and wax spattered on the cross-stitched tablecloth. Sanelma struggled to pick up the child, but she couldn’t. Jasmin screamed.  Puffing like a steam engine, Old Taneli stood at the other side of the table, brow furrowed in concentration. Just as the candle toppled, a swoosh of cold air blew over it and the flame went out.

“That’s done it, Taneli!” Terhi said, almost fading out of sight with relief.

A blob of hot wax had fallen on the child’s cheek, and he pawed at it, getting wax on his fingers, too. He began to wail. The woman on the bed started awake. “Tani? What is it?” She rushed over to the child and picked him up. Frowning, she wiped the cooling wax off his cheek. “Oh, sweetie, what did you do? Let’s get a coldpak for that.” The toddler’s soft curls stuck to her spiky, red hair.

The toddler’s wails abated as she pressed the coldpak to his cheek “You’re okay, hon. Mommy’s sorry. No more candles.” She gave him a gingerbread cookie, an astronaut with a smile of pink frosting.  Slowly, she walked to the porthole and grasped one of the curtains as if to close it, but then let it fall. ”Do you think they’re eating ham and rutabaga casserole by now? Or opening the presents?” She smiled at the child in her arms, but the smile was tinted with sadness. “You don’t even remember her, but I bet your grandma is really missing you. I wish she were here; I wish they all were.” She pressed her hand to the porthole. “Merry Christmas, everyone.”

The ghosts gathered around her, exchanging glances.

“Guys? I’m glad to spend Christmas with you,” Jasmin said.

“Me too,” Terhi said and hugged her. Taneli patted her shoulder, and Sanelma gave her a stiff one-armed hug.

 Silent, they stood around the mother and child.

At last, they could feel morning coming, a tugging in their stomachs. Young Tani waved at them as they disappeared.  

   

Etymology Expeditions: The Christmas Edition

In the spirit of the season, I went for words that have to do with Christmas this week. Got your hot chocolate and candy cane ready? Ok, let's begin.

Christmas is pretty self-explanatory (from Christ, of course). It's a combination of Old English Cristes + mæsse, so Christ+mass. The word mass is actually quite interesting: it comes from Latin mittere "to let go, send," so a dismissal, probably from the last words of the Latin service Ite, missa est, meaning "Go, the prayer has been sent."

In Finnish Christmas is joulu, which sounds suspiciously close to Yule,which comes from Old English geol meaning Christmas Day. The origins of the word are in the Norse jol, a heathen feast taken over by christianity. So that's probably where we get joulu. We are a bunch of heathens here, you know. In Finland, the elements of a pagan celebration called kekri (a bit like Halloween) mixed with the Christmas traditions. That's why we're supposed to leave the Christmas feast out all night so the dead can come take their part, for example. Not that most English Christmas traditions are very christian, either. The Christmas tree,  gift giving, and mistletoe, all of pagan origin. Happy Saturnalia, suckers!  

Speaking of mistletoe, the sprig that killed the god Balder, its origins are in Old English mistiltan, from mistel "basil, mistletoe,"of unknown origin, + tan "twig." The custom of kissing under it came from the Victorian times, probably because of the associations with vitality and fertility. 

Twelfth Night comes from Old English twelftan niht, meaning the eve of Epiphany. (See last week's Twelve Days of Christmas post, if you're interested.)  Epiphany, the festival of the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles, comes from the Old French epiphanie, from Latin epiphania, from Greek epiphaneia "manifestation, festival held in commemoration of the appearance of a god at a certain place." From epi "on"+ phainein "to show." In Finland, we just call it Loppiainen, like the end, ending. Pretty prosaic.

Santa Claus we all know comes from the Middle Dutch Sinter Niklaas (Saint Nicholas), but did you know that Santa has absorbed elements of the one-eyed god Wotan, associated with the Germanic midwinter celebration of Yule? He led the the wild hunt through the sky. Nice mental picture, that.

Okay, let's do something nice and safe next, like Gingerbread. It comes from Latin gingimbratus "gingered." Later, the ending changed by folk etymology to -brede, bread. The word dates from the 13th century, but the meaning of a spiced cookie is only from the 15th. I guess they just ate the candied ginger on its own before that?

Carolling comes from Old French carole "a joyful song, to dance in a ring," which comes from Greek khoraules "a flute player who accompanies the choral dance," from khoros "chorus"+ aulein "to play the flute," from aulos "reed instrument." The Christmas thing is from the 15th century.

I think that's enough for now. What's that? One more? Okay!

Here's a bonus: Krampus, an Austro-Bavarian Christmas devil that punishes misbehaving children. He's best buds with Saint Nick, of course. I couldn't find an etymology for the name, but I wonder if it has to do with kramen "to rummage about" or Krampf "convulsions," or maybe Kralle, "claw"? Any German readers out there? Do you know?
You can read more about Krampus here. Nightmares guaranteed.


Sources:
http://www.etymonline.com
https://en.wikipedia.org

My Favourite Christmas Books

                               

It's almost Christmas, so I thought I'd share some of my favourite Christmas stories with you. A Christmas Carol  is an obvious choice, I know, but I love it. Ghosts, Victorian Christmas traditions, and Dickens' quirky characters. What more do you need?

                               

This is one of the very first books I read in English, bought at a school book fair. It's about an animal activist who takes in a stray cat on Christmas Eve. If you like cats, you'll love this one. 

                              

This is actually the second book of Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series, but it has a wonderful description of an English family Christmas in it. (And magic, and the Old Ones, and chills, thrills and adventure. If you haven't read the series, go for it. It's amazing.) 

                              

Not sold? How about a Christmas in Narnia, where Santa brings swords and daggers to all the good little children? I think this is a book you need to have read as a child to enjoy it fully. The allegory can feel a bit heavy-handed to an adult.

So, those are my picks. What about you? What's your favourite Christmas book?

Making Christmas

                              

                           

                            

                             

                            

                            

                            

Etymology Expeditions: The Twelve Days of Christmas

                     

Image from Wikipedia

                         

I've always though "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was a bit weird (who gives someone eight maids a-milking for Christmas? Must be a bit nuts...), but then I discovered that it's actually a children's memory game, where the days stand for the twelve days of celebrating from Christmas day until Twelfth Night, the traditional end of the Christmas celebrations. Some think that the gifts have significance as to the sports played in each month of the year, or maybe it's a catechism song to help young Catholics learn their faith.

So, here we go:

1. A partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus Christ, because the bird is willing to sacrifice itself to draw away predators from its young. (The "true love" in the song also represents Christ.)

2. Two turtle doves refer to the New and Old Testament

3. Three french hens stand for faith, hope, and love

4. Four calling birds are the four gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew, and John

5. Five golden rings mean the five books of the Old Testament

6. Six geese a-laying refer to the six days of creation

7. Seven swans a-swimming are the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit (Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy)

8. Eight maids a-milking refer to the eight beatitudes (Eight blessings from The Sermon on the Mount. The word 'beautitude' comes from Latin beātitūdō, which means happiness.)

9. Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the holy spirit (Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, and Chastity.)

10. Ten lords a-leaping stand for the ten commandments

11. Eleven pipers piping represent the eleven faithful apostles

12.Twelve drummers drumming represent the twelve points of believe in the Apostles' creed

Makes much more sense now.


Sources:

wikipedia.com
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com

The Weirdest Finnish Christmas Carols

                                

Traditional Finnish Christmas carols are kind of weird and gloomy. Forget mommy kissing Santa Claus while he's coming to town and check out some of these gems (Click the Finnish titles to listen to them on to Youtube.):


Varpunen jouluaamuna

Sävel: Otto Kotilainen
Sanat: Sakari Topelius, suom. K. A. Hougberg


Lumi on jo peittänyt kukat laaksosessa,
järvenaalto jäätynyt talvipakkasessa,
varpunen pienoinen syönyt kesäeinehen,
järvenaalto jäätynyt talvipakkasessa.

Pienen pirtin portailla oli tyttökulta:
Tule varpu, riemulla, ota siemen multa!
Joulu on, koditon varpuseni onneton,
tule tänne riemulla, ota siemen multa!

Tytön luo nyt riemuiten lensi varpukulta:
Kiitollisna siemenen otan kyllä sulta.
Palkita Jumala tahtoo kerran sinua.
Kiitollisna siemenen ota kyllä sulta.

En mä ole, lapseni, lintu tästä maasta.
Olen pieni veljesi, tulin taivahasta.
Siemenen pienoisen, jonka annoit köyhällen,
pieni sai sun veljesi enkeleitten maasta.



The Sparrow On Christmas Morning
Snow has already covered the flowers in the vale,


Frozen [has] the wave of lake, in the frost of winter.
Little sparrow, [has already] eaten the food [left] of summer,
Frozen [has] the wave of lake, in the frost of winter.

On the stairs of a little cabin was a dear girl:
“Come, sparrow, with joy, take a seed from me!
It's Christmas, my homeless and unhappy sparrow,
Come here with joy, take a seed from me!”

The dear sparrow with joy now flew to the girl:
“Gratefully I shall have the seed from you!
One day God wants to reward you.
Gratefully I shall have the seed from you!”

“I am not, my child, a bird from this world.
I am your little brother, I came from Heaven.
The tiny seed you gave for the poor,
was given to your little brother, from the Land of Angels.”

Translation from http://lyricstranslate.com/


Then we have this (English translation by me):


Konsta Jylhän Joululaulu


Joulun aatto nyt saa, jo ilta tummuu ja hiljenee maa. 

Kuka kulkee nyt yksinään kalmistoon, kuka yksin näin kylmässä on?

 Pieni lapsonen vain, joka näin kiiruhtain jälleen kynttilän haudalle tuo. 

Paikka on hiljainen, tumma, liikkumaton, äidin haudalle valon hän suo.


Liekin niin häilyvän tuo hauta rakkaimman hetkeksi saa. 

Sitä katsovi silmin niin kaipaavin, sitä katsoo ja taas odottaa: 

koska joulun hän saa, koska voi naurahtaa kera muiden taas kuin ennenkin? 

Mutta niin hiljainen koti yksinäisten,on kuin puuttuisi siunaus sen.

Äänen hiljaisen sointuvan nyt jostakin kuulevi hän, joka lämpimin lausehin lohduttaa, 

joka nousemaan katsehen saa: "älä huoliisi jää, nosta pystyyn taas pää, joka hetki sun kanssasi käyn. 

Lapsi joulun mä oon, sinut vien kartanoon, josta lähdit, sun valonas näyn.

Joulun ensimmäisen mä olla tallissa härkien sain. Sinne tähtöset tuikkivat valkeuttaan, 

sinne saapuivat tietäjät maan: 

sitä taas viettämään sinun kanssasi jään, sinun joulusi kauniiksi teen. 

Sinä huomata saat: surun laaksot ja maat voivat peittyä kirkkauteen

Konsta Jylhä's Christmas Carol

It's Christmas Eve. Night falls, the land falls quiet
Who walks in the churchyard, all alone in the cold?
A child, once more he hastens, lays a candle on the grave
All is silent, dark, and still. A light he brings to his mother's grave.

The wavering flame, for a moment, lights the beloved grave
He watches with longing, he watches and waits, once more
When will he have a Christmas again, laugh with the others once more?
But silent are the homes of the lonely

A hushed, melodious voice sounds, consoles him with warm words
"Leave your sorrows, raise your head, child. I am with you," it says.
"A child of Christmas am I, I will guide you home tonight, I will be your light."

"I spent the first Christmas in a manger. The stars twinkled, the wise men came
I will keep it again with you tonight, a beautiful Christmas.
You will see, child: light can drown sorrow's valleys and lands, bring brightness."


Bummed out yet? What about this one? (English translation by me.)


Me käymme joulun viettohon

Music: Martti Turunen
Lyrics: Mauno Isola

Me käymme joulun viettohon
taas kuusin, kynttilöin.
Puun vihreen oksat kiedomme
me hopein, kultavöin,
vaan muistammeko lapsen sen,
mi taivaisen tuo kirkkauden?

Me käymme joulun viettohon
niin maisin miettehin,
nuo rikkaan täyttää aatokset,
ja mielen köyhänkin:
Suun ruoka, juoma, meno muu.
Laps' hankeen hukkuu, unhoittuu.

Turhuuden turhuus kaikki on,
niin turhaa touhu tää;
me kylmin käymme sydämin,
laps' sivuun vain jos jää.
Me lahjat jaamme runsahat,
Laps' -tyhjät kätes ihanat.

Oi ystävät, jos myöskin me
kuin tietäjämme nuo
veisimme kullan, mirhamin
tuon rakkaan lapsen luo,
niin meille joulu maallinen
ois alku joulun taivaisen.



Celebrating Christmas

We celebrate Christmas
With glittering trees and candles
The green boughs we wrap
In garlands of silver and gold
But do we recall the holy child
Who brings the heavenly light?


We celebrate Christmas
With such earthly thought
They fill the minds
Of rich and poor alike
Food and drink, frivolity
The child is lost in the snow, forgotten.


Everything is meaningless and futile
So pointless, all we do.
Our hearts grow cold
If we forget the holy child
Us, we share the flood of gifts
The child, his lovely hands empty


O friends, if only we
Like the wise men of Betlehem
Would bring gold and myrrh
to that beloved child
Then for us, this earthly feast
Could be the start of a true Christmas.


What's that? Oh, you want something happy for a change? This one is actually Swedish, so I'm cheating a little. (English translation by me.)


Hei, tonttu-ukot
Swedish folksong

Hei, tonttu-ukot hyppikää,
nyt on riemun raikkahin aika!
Hei, tonttu-ukot hyppikää,
nyt on riemu raikkahin aika!
Hetken kestää elämää
ja sekin synkkä ja ikävää.
Hei, tonttu-ukot hyppikää,
nyt on riemu raikkahin aika!


Hey, ye merry elves

Hey, ye merry elves, jump and dance
It's the happiest time of the year!
Hey, ye merry elves, jump and dance
It's the happiest time of the year!
Life only lasts a moment
and even that, dark and miserable
Hey, ye merry elves, jump and dance
It's the happiest time of the year!


I think I've spread enough Christmas cheer for today.

Go have a candy cane latte and listen to Rudolf on repeat; you'll feel better, I promise,

Sources:

http://suomalainenjoulu.fi/

http://saaressa.blogspot.fi/2012/11/joululauluja.html

At the Christmas Market

                                 

I decided to visit the Christmas market at Vanha Suurtori today. That's Turku Cathedral and this year's Christmas tree in the background.

                                

                                                Here are a few shots of the market. 

                               

                              

                                         That's the stall for roasted almonds and glögg. 

                            

                            

I couldn't decide which kind of honey to get, so now I have four little jars to try out. From top to bottom, we have woodland, heather, autumn, and dance of the northern lights honey.

                          

Then we found a curious bookstall selling very strange books. I got this one full of old Finnish spells.

                          

And this is the Finnish translation of Sabine Baring-Gould's book on werewolves. Yes, I got a werewolf book at the Christmas fair. What?

                          

Then we hit a few indie bookstores and things got a bit out of hand. The Aho and Canth books I actually need for research, but the rest were impulse buys. I've been meaning to read The Alchemist  for ages, and the original's in Portuguese, so it doesn't matter that it's a translation. The others are a book of old Finnish horror stories and E. T. A. Hoffmann's short stories (this collection had "The Sandman" in it!!). 

                          

At home we had apple glögg and date cake in front of a roaring fire. You can't get much more Christmassy than than. 

The Advent Calendar

Here's this year's advent calendar for my godson. I made the calendar for him years ago, and I fill         it with surprises every year. Hopefully he likes this one! 

                                          

Steampunk Bats and Gingerbread

                                   

My family got together to celebrate my dad's birthday, and we checked out the Christmas lights and window displays in Turku city centre. Stockmann had the coolest one by far. 

                                

                                   You can't see it that well, but one of the bats had a jetpack!

                                

             My niece and nephew loved this. There were a lot of moving parts and little details to notice. 

                                 

                                        We also baked the first gingerbread cookies of the year.

                                

                                                     Yes, the skeleton ones are mine.

                                

The finished product. Tasted pretty good, too. 

Then we watched The Return of the Jedi. The ewoks were a big hit with the kids.

A fun day, all in all.