White Christmas

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
with every Christmas card I write.
May your days be merry an' bright
and may all your Christmas's be white!"
- Irving Berlin


Dreaming may be the closest to snow most of Europe gets this Christmas. With record high temperatures throughout the entire continent, the holiday spirit is at a low. Thanks to Global Warming, 2006 is the sixth warmest on record. Many families planned ski vacations to the Swiss Alps for their holiday and now have to turn it into a hiking vacation. One of the top British Christmas destinations for 'believing' families is Rovaniemi, Finland the home of Santa Claus. Tourist flock there to enjoy sleigh rides pulled by real reindeer, Santa Park, Santa Claus Village, and snow ball fights. The town that sits on the Artic Circle that is usually blanketed in white is green this year.


Helsinki received it's first snowfall of December last night. With a forecast returning above freezing tomorrow, the snow will soon disappear leaving the city without a white Christmas this year! In the news today, even the animals of the city are being effected by the warm temperatures.

We Three Kings of Orient Are

"We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
Following yonder star.

O Star of wonder, star of night,
Star with royal beauty bright.
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light."
- Rev. John Henry Hopkins


Big's preschool had their Christmas Play this afternoon at Finlandia Hall. All 4 locations of his school gathered to perform on stage. Big's classmates were dressed as 'Baby Kings' as their skit was looking for the King of Christmas. Their only line spoken was "Where's the king?" along with singing various carols and dancing with angels during the 2 hour show.



Out of his 6 classmates, 5 showed. Out of the 5, only 3 were brave enough to dress in costume and walk onto the stage. I am sad to say my child was not one of the brave ones today. After an hour of struggling and bribes (a package of M&Ms in his pocket), I did get his costume and crown on long enough to take a few pictures. After all that he would not let me leave the dressing room without him.





Unfortunately, Big watched the play from the front row on my lap. When his class first stepped on stage, he mentioned wanting to join them so I encouraged him to participate. He made it up the stairs and about 10 more feet before "freezing." Needless to say he rejoined me in the audience.








I was quite proud of all the Baby Kings and their performance today. Hopefully Big will gain enough courage to join next time.

In The Library

"There's a special place I know
That's not far from you or me.
It's a place full of surprises
And it's called the library...

You can read about flying
'Round the world in a balloon
Or find books about people
Who landed on the moon.
There are stories about things like kings
Who dance with their fiddlers three
Or you can read about kids
Just like you and me."
- Sesame Street



The boys and I took a bus to a library in Espoo (a suburb of Helsinki) this morning for an English story hour. 10 children gathered in a circle on a colorful rug and listened wide-eyed as 3 books were read aloud. The stories were all about Christmas and snow, appropriate for this season. Between each book, a familiar song was sang with simple hand gestures. Following the stories, the children were given paper Christmas trees to color and gingerbread cookies as a snack. We all enjoyed the hour and meet some fellow Americans, which is always nice.


The group meets the second Saturday of each month in Leppävaara. We will definitely try to become regulars. Big listened very patiently, following all instructions. On the other hand, Little was running around 5 minutes into the first book yelling "snacks," "water," & "juice." What a difference 14 months can make.

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

"Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
and she's gone.

Lucy in the sky with diamonds.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds."
- The Beatles



"Pre-Christmas celebrations of Swedish-speaking Finns include the Lucia festival. Thousands of people line the streets to greet the radiant Lucia and her maidens. The Lucia is chosen from among ten candidates by popular vote, and the winner is crowned at a ceremony at the Helsinki Cathedral on 13 December at 5pm. At 6pm the Lucia descends down the steps of the cathedral and begins her procession from the Senate Square.

According to the old Julian Calendar, Lucia Night was the longest of the year and was therefore full of dangers, as the power of Lucifer was at its greatest. In some parts of Europe, Lucia is considered to be the bride of Lucifer. According to researchers, the Lucia cult reflects Christian elements as well as possibly two pagan gods, representing good and bad. The worship of these pagan gods eventually gave rise to the celebration of the saints.



THE LEGEND OF LUCIA

Lucia was a young maiden from Syracuse who converted to Christianity. However, her mother Eutykia had promised the girl to a pagan chief for his bride. Lucia refused to comply, and as a result of the disagreement Eutykia became ill. When the doctors failed to cure her, Lucia managed to persuade Eutykia to pray. Upon doing so she got better and converted herself to Christianity.

This infuriated the pagan chief, who turned in the maiden. The punishment for converting to Christianity was to be burned alive. On the stake Lucia prayed to God for salvation, and the flames did not harm her. The executioner finally thrust his sword through the maiden’s neck. It took a long time for Lucia to die, and even with the sword in her neck she was able to talk to the crowd and to receive sacraments.

According to another legend, a Roman man fell in love with Lucia’s beautiful eyes and began courting the young maiden. Lucia was so distraught that she tore out her eyes and gave them to the man. After this a miracle occurred: the maiden got new eyes that were even more beautiful than the first. She still refused to give herself to the Roman, who eventually killed her. On the basis of this legend, Lucia is to this day the Patron Saint of the blind and seeing impaired.

Lucia celebrations began to spread after the year 600. The tradition became popular among Swedish Finns in the last century."
- Hot Winter Helsinki

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.
There'll be much mistltoeing
And hearts will be glowing
When love ones are near.
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year."
- Eddie Pola and George Wyle


The St. Thomas Christmas Market kicked off today and will be open through the 20th of December. Since 1993, the market has offered over one hundred stalls selling handicrafts, foodstuffs and baked goods for the Christmas table. Visitors to Esplanade Park can even enjoy delicious warm food and drinks while admiring the work of craftsmen. Santa Claus is even hanging around the market to pass out candy to the young.




According to tradition, Christmas arrives with St. Thomas. All Christmas preparations should be ready by St. Thomas Day, which is celebrated on 21 December.