Christmas Eve

by Minna.

We celebrate Christmas both on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve is the day when we traditionally do the last minute shopping, go to visit family graves, go to church, bathe in the a sauna, have the big Christmas meal, and most notably - it's when Santa comes to visit and we open presents.

The traditions for Christmas Day vary but in our family things are less structured. You eat leftovers and I suppose many people spend this day in their pajamas reading books they got the night before, playing games and playing with the toys they got. This is the more quiet day of the two.

Our Christmas traditions are missing some of the elements as we live abroad.

Yesterday, I started the day by cooking. I had stayed up until closer to 3 AM baking Christmas bread, and now I continued on making the salads (different chopped up vegetables and apples). I also prepared three casseroles (carrot, potato and macaroni) and Christmas porridge (it's a lot like rice pudding but with sugar and cinnamon on top).

Seija, Jenni and Joona came to our house in the morning and we had porridge by the pool. Joona stayed over for a couple of hours. The boys played on the computers (Runescape) and together with India.

I cooked and baked away in the kitchen, while Milja, Heikki and Dan went off for some last minute shopping. Dan and Milja joined me in the kitchen later on. Heikki heated up the sauna. India and Matias spent time in the pool. I think I was the only one of us who didn't make it into the sauna.

We watched the Vicar of Dibley Christmas Lunch episode on DVD. I'd only slept 4 hours the previous night so I then did something that's not on my traditions-list: I had a nap.

We'd thought of eating late, but there was the possibility that some of our friends might come to the sauna later on, so we started eating already sometime after 6. It was sufficiently dark in the room for us to light candles. Milja and Dan had bought English Christmas crackers and so we all sat around the table with our crowns on.

We then Skyped Finland and by the time we'd finished with the calls it was 8:30 PM and dark. Great - Santa could come :)

Matias popped out and then there was the long awaited knock on the front door. Santa!

Santa had traveled a long way from Finland to bring us all lovely presents. India was thrilled when Santa gave her a big box that contained two baby dolls. She then (only briefly) mistook Santa for her big brother, crying out: "That's Mateish!!!" By this time it was already time for Santa to go and deliver more presents to more families.

We sat in the sitting room and opened presents for the next three hours. We all got a bunch of lovely presents.

India was too tired and overwhelmed to open all of hers, so we left a handful for her to open in the morning.