You better watch out...you better not cry...

If you're new to Finland - welcome.  I hope this blog provides useful and fun information for you.
One thing that you should probably know now - (especially since Christmas is in about 23 days) is that Santa is from Lapland, Finland.

Don't believe me? Of course not - unless you're a Finn.
He's from your own country....or perhaps he resides in the North Pole (popular location known by the North Americans).

Every year we gather with our friends (or try to) during the holiday season and we discuss family traditions, country's traditions (or typical ones anyway) for the holidays.
I'm ALWAYS asked about the Man in Red.

Well, let me break it down for you. (Sorry if you've been following my blog way back in the beginning and this is slightly repetitive...)

North American View of Santa

• Blue twinkling eyes, white bushy beard, a nose like a cherry, red suit with white trim, black boots and black belt with a buckle....a jolly laugh and a large round belly!
• Depending where you're from in the world - he has a different name!:
• Santa Claus (or just Santa)
• P�re Noel (French)
• Father Christmas
• Kris Kringle
• Saint Nicholas
• Papai Noel (Portugese)
• That scary man in the red suit...ha. (He's not meant to be scary but quite often to children - he can be).
• You can often find Santa in the malls around November and have your children sit on his lap - have a small chit chat and get a photo taken - and maybe he'll give you a candy cane!  
• Or in the case of Toronto, Ontario (Canada)....you can SKYPE WITH SANTA!!  I think this is totally ridiculous and takes the fun out of everything....but I'll blog about that later too.
• In Canada - you can write him a letter and expect a response (I haven't tried it outside of December...).  Here's his address: 
• SANTA CLAUS
  THE NORTH POLE
  HOH OHO
  (Volunteers respond at the post office - it's super sweet.)
• Drives a huge sleigh with 8 reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen)...9 if you include the red-nosed one who can light the way - Rudolph....
• They land on your roof top or outside your door if you don't have a big enough roof....
• Delivers gifts silently while children sleep on Christmas Eve - to be opened Christmas Day in the morning - via your chimney.  Don't have one? He has a key to your door....and can sneak in and out pretty quietly for a big jolly guy!
• Leave him cookies you've baked and a glass of milk...his reindeer enjoy carrot sticks...It's hard work magically flying and pulling a huge sled with a huge sack of toys and Santa plus a couple helping elves...
• If you're good - you get a nice toy and he'll fill your socks/stockings that are hung by the chimney with care....
• If you're bad - you get coal.  (Better get a good stain remover for your stocking! Actually...I'll blog about an excellent stain remover another time!) 

My first year here - I told one of Tim's colleagues (now one of my friends) all this and she looked at me stunned.

She then explained quite firmly that Santa is from Finland...specifically Lapland, Finland.

There's even a Santa's Village!  So - there.
And I kid you not - she said something along these lines:

"Santa does not deliver gifts to kids while they sleep and drink Coca-Cola!"  

(Thanks Americans for that one).

What does he do in Finland?

Finland's View of Santa

• In Finnish he's known as "Papai Noel" (I think - this is Google Translate talking...)
• He's from Lapland, Finland...cut the crap about the North Pole...it's not true!
  There is a Santa's Village in Lapland!   Check out their website!
• Santa delivers toys to children on Christmas Eve...in person and while they are awake!  (It's typical in Europe to open your gifts Christmas Eve and have your big dinner then).
• His reindeer don't fly...or have the above names.  I don't even think he has reindeer that assist him in delivering gifts...
  (Although in Helsinki there is a parade of sorts when Santa arrives....)

So there you have it!

There is even a Santa Convention every year...and one year the Finnish Santa disagreed with where they stated Santa came from...so he refused to attend..or something like that.... (Hello Hardcore Santa!)
And if you have a suit and can be jolly and speak Finnish - you can probably be hired as Santa.

(Kids are smart enough to pick out their parents, neighbours and uncles).

So...post an ad about your skills as Santa and you'll probably be gobbled up quickly with requests!

Some finer points you should highlight about yourself in your ad (and it has been done!):

• If you like kids at all.
• Whether or not you smoke (aka will you smell or cause some poor kid an asthma attack)...
• If you will be sober or not (FYI sober Santas are a huge hit and can sometimes be hard to find!)
• If you are reliable and honest....timing is everything!

Good luck and HO HO HO!

In your opinion....Where is Santa from?

All info is as correct as possible with only 2-3 hours of sleep and a busy memory...feel free to correct anything I may have said in-correctly! :)

The Rules of Naming Your Child in Finland

That's right - naming your new baby is something a lot of parents are excited for - or are incredibly stressed about.
Our friends recently had a baby and upon leaving the hospital - you are given a birth certificate without the child's name on it.  Finns typically name their child once they learn the child's characteristics and personality...it's not often that it's planned ahead - like North Americans tend to do.
So our friends had picked out the first name already - but it wasn't registered through the Magistrate yet.
The Magistrate sends everybody information about what is okay and not okay to name your child.

You're probably thinking, "It's my child - it's none of their business what I name my children!"
Yeah you're probably right - go freedom of speech.  However, Finland has come up with these regulations of naming your child - so the child will not have "issues" or be embarrassed when they get older - and to eliminate confusion with other people who may have the same name.

Here's the rules (from what I can remember) - and I'll try and give the best examples that I can:

• A last name cannot be used as a first name.  (I.e. "Jameson, Ainsley")
• Your children's first names cannot match each other within 1 family.  (I.e. Siblings cannot be named "Paul" and "Paul")
• Siblings can have the same middle (or "second name" as it's known here) name.  (I know someone who has the same middle name as her two much younger sisters!)
• It is possible to name a child after yourself, like "Olli's daughter" - Olli being the father.  This is a very old Finnish way of doing things...it's not very common these days.
• The name given has to be a real name - not an object or name of something else.  (I.e. "Chocolate bars" or "Facebook".  Facebook was done in Egypt!)
• If the name is not approved by this council, when you register your child's name (and then can get a Kela benefits card for your child if you qualify) - you have to pick a new name.
• You cannot "make up" a name.  (I.e. "Nevaeh" is a popular name in North America...guess what it means?  "Heaven" spelled backwards.  And in case your'e wondering, yes Nevaeh is super popular!)
• Your child cannot have more than 3 first names.  (I.e. "Sarah-Jane -middle name- Smith" is acceptable - but not "Robert-Jason-Carl-Junior -middle name-Smith")
• No foul language or swear words for first or middle names... (Thanks to "Dominique D." for reminding me!)
• The name cannot embarrass your child when they get older or be overly foolish.  (I.e. "Taluah Does The Hula While Sipping On Kaluah" - there was an instance of something similar to this and the courts in Hawaii (?) had the parents change the name...and that was just the first name!)
• Boys cannot be given a girls name and vice verca (Thanks Pasi!).  There are very few and rare unisex names.

Remember- the purpose of these regulations is not to offend you or limit you in any way - but to protect the child from humiliation and embarrassment as they get older.

Just bear in mind all the forms people have to fill out as they get older - and the limited spaces available on the paper...and all the times they have to pronounce their names or announce it publicly - and if it's a tongue twister - it's not fun for anybody to learn or say!

Just in case you don't know what I'm talking about:

• Passport documents
• Drivers License document
• Bank accounts
• Credit Cards or student loans
• Travelling Visas
• Booking appointments (in person or on the phone) for doctors, specialists or reservations at a restaurant
• Registering for school or conferences
• Applying for jobs and submitting resumes
• Business cards
• Giving speeches or presentations in front of groups and having to introduce themselves
• Getting married and having to say their full name (and the spouse has to say it too!) during the ceremony

So - what will you name your kid?!

Baby Showers versus Naming Parties versus Toe Parties

In North America, baby showers are very common.
If you don't know what a baby shower is - let me explain.
When a woman is expecting a baby, her close friends, family and co-workers often throw a party (or several) for her as her due date approaches and "shower" the expecting mother with gifts for the baby and/or for her!
Typically, the father is not present, although I do know of some baby showers who have had the father there.  But it's typically an all-woman thing and gives the ladies to find out the details of the nursery, the gender, the due date, the feelings, the appointment details and of course - discuss their own personal labour experiences.  As well, there's usually lots of food, drinks and some fun games hosted at someone's home or in a rented hall or center.
There are such things as having a baby shower after the baby's born - especially if the gender is not known (and to avoid several green and yellow-colored "gender neutral" outfits), the mother wasn't feeling particularly well, there was some specific concern over the un-born baby's health or due to schedule conflicts.

In Finland, baby showers are not very common I have found out - as we've had several friends have babies and not heard of a baby shower prior to the baby's birth.  After the baby's born in Finland, there is usually a "Naming Party" - which means the name of the baby is released to their close friends and family and there is often a Christening or Baptizing at the same time.  This can be a few weeks after the baby's born (and once mother is up and running again) or a few months - seriously.  So nobody will know about the baby's name, except the mother and father!!!
Don't be offended if you weren't invited to your friend's baby's Naming Party either.  It's typically for very close friends, like the Godparents of the child and family members only - from what I've heard.
I've mentioned this before but it's true - and very odd to a parent from North America I imagine.  Majority of people I know who have children from Canada, have had names picked out once they passed the first trimester - if not since they were children themselves and playing "house" with their doll sets.  I am willing to admit, had our son not been born in Finland - we were thinking of "Isiah Michael", if the baby was a boy and if it was a girl - well, we were stuck on that one.
So the point being, Finns don't generally name their children prior to the delivery - simply because they want to meet the baby, see what (or who) they look like and how they act (characteristic-wise).  There's a lot of thought that goes into a baby's name here (and I'm sure in other cultures that practice similar traditions).
I'm not knocking your choice of a child's name- it's your child, not mine.  But I have heard of some very odd names since I was a teenager and now names seem to lack a true meaning - other than "sounding cool".

Enough about Baby Showers and Naming Parties.  The true point of this post was to educate you on something I just learned about recently.
My friend's husband recently went to a party to celebrate a friend's new-addition to the family and that's when I learned about "Toe Parties".
"Toe Parties" is the best way to translate it - as it does not refer to painting your toes or tickling anybody else's - but refers to baby toes.  Now before you think "How odd"- here's what happens at a "Toe Party".
A Toe Party is a party for the newly-minted father.  That's right men, you are not forgotten in the baby-department!!
A few days after the baby is born (or whenever a time is convenient I suppose) - the father is taken out for his Toe Party with all of his good friends and family members (mostly men from what I understand) and they get him plastered.  Drunk beyond anything imaginable.
Because as we all know as parents, once you have a child (or a few of them) - you don't get to do that very often at all.

And one last thing - yes it is perfectly acceptable to show up with a gift for the newborn when you are first visiting them - even if they are already 3 months old by the time you finally find out their name. :)

A compliment

I was hanging out with my friend doing crafts and as per our usual weekend plans and she had something delicious to feed me (when hasn't she?!).
(In all fairness, I do bring food with me too - since she drives and picks me up, takes me to the big grocery stores and is just an awesome person to hang out with and loves food like I do.  This is what I brought over in case you're curious - Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart bread...but the Finns would call it "pulla" (pooh-lah) - a sweet bread).

She had made a Finnish snack - a Ham and cheese pie.  And no it doesn't have a pastry on top like your grandma's best apple pie (think North American).  I have yet to see a "pie" in Finland with a pastry topping actually...
It was not quite like a quiche - but very tasty nonetheless.

I've been wanting to make something like this for quite awhile but didn't know the recipe and she advised me it was very easy and very plain.  I didn't think so!
It reminded me of the salmon pies you can buy during some craft exhibitions I've been to...but with ham!  It was delightful.
I wanted the recipe - despite being terrified of the word "pie".  I've had several failures before in the "pie crust" department...but this was "very easy"...I can't possibly fail - right?!

I asked her if she wouldn't mind sharing the recipe and she was tickled pink!  She wrote it out in English for me (thank goodness) and then was very proud because it was the first recipe she wrote out in English!
Anyhow, apparently it's quite the compliment (well she put it as "a big honor") to be asked for a recipe.  I had no idea...I mean typically in North America, people swap recipes all the time.  Although, some recipes (nothing really specific usually) are "top family secrets" and the full ingredients list may not be given out...or a special step to make the perfect ______ won't be shared.
Depends who you're asking I guess!

I personally, have no problem sharing recipes and now that I think about it - since being in Finland...I've given several recipes out!! :)
I am just very happy that people like my food I make - and nobody's threatened to sue me over food poisoning! (HA I'm kidding!)