In Finnish Santa Claus – Joulupukki literally means Christmas goat. Long time ago he visited families in his grey fur and with wooden stick. Goat has always been a symbol of prosperity. Finnish Santa has little helpers – Christmas elves.

Children believe that Santa Claus lives in the cold snowy country and travels on reindeer-drawn sledge. Thus Finnish Lapland became a perfect place for Santa’s motherland.  It is believed that the official residence of Santa Claus is ear-shaped mountain Korvatunturi (The Ear Fell) in Finnish Lapland close to the russian border. The story tells that with this “ears” Santa Claus can listen children wishes from all over the world. 

Finns have combined myth with reality and in 1985 opened Santa Claus Village in Rovaneimi, the capital of Lapland province. The Village now includes Santa Claus’s house, his workshop, post office and variety of shops and restaurants. Rovaneimi city has airport and can host large jets.  As a result today Santa Claus Village receiving visitors from all over the world, offering not only Santa Claus Village attractions, but also reindeer-drawn sled rides, Sámi culture (Sámi – ethnical minority of the northern European countries) and fascinating  scenery of snowy Lapland. 

Visit Santa Claus Village website  http://www.santagreeting.net

These are Finnish fairy-tale books with astonishing illustrations on myths, history and folklore of Christmas and  Lapland: 

The Bearer of Gifts  by Kenneth Steven, tells about how Santa Claus came to Lapland

Tarlena, the Elf-Gir  by Elina Karjalainen,  is  a story about Tarlena’s adventure in Santa Claus land.

A Glimpse of Sámi Earth Spirits. Is a collection of old Sámi stories which tell about earth spirit and other mythical creatures of Sámi folklore tradition .

American Santa Claus became nearly Universal image, known as a kind old man presenting toys to children. Santa generates love, care, mystery and miracle, reward obedience. Being a character of an American folklore he became widely accepted as real. 

During the Christmas time people make donations for charity, presenting gifts, greetings, decorate Christmas trees and houses. Christmas celebration unify members of society, emphasize connection between church and family.    

It is believed that the Christmas diner must be over – abundant so that the coming year would be rich and favorable. Traditional Christmas diner contained 12 different dishes which symbolized 12 months of the year. Dishes which contained meat were strictly avoided while nuts, seeds, beans and dry fruits were preferable. On this day women baked ritual loaf of bread. The oldest man in the family burned incense over the table then he broke the loaf and gave a piece to each member of the family. After the diner it was a time for fortune-telling about love, the weather and the harvest. 

Another feature of the festival was the Christmas fire. It was important to support the fire all night long. If the fire died out it signified a bad luck for the family.     

Carol singing mostly performed by boys and men was the third aspect of the festival. Children were granted with walnuts and ring-shaped buns specially backed for the feast. The adult carol singers wore their best Sunday clothe and visited all houses in the neighborhood chanting blessings.    

Read more about the Christmas in Japan >

In Newfoundland Christmas is celebrated with wide hospitality and generosity, food and drinks are consumed in a large quantities. Brews of beer are prepared in advance before the Christmas season starts. During the holidays women make lots of cookies and fruit cakes, open jars of preserved moose, jams and vegetables. In a rural areas a cow or a pig is usually slaughtered in order to feed numerous visitors. During the Christmas Day  family host guests, visit relatives, friends and neighbours. 

Mumming is a unique Newfoundland cultural tradition and is an inalienable part of Christmas common strolls. Dressing usually in torn dresses, bettered hats, hip boots and other obsolete or strange materials men try to appear as women and women dress up as men. Mummers also have to cover their faces so that others wouldn’t recognise them. 

In late evening mummers move from one house to another in small groups. They enter houses without knocking or invitation, they behave quite loud, moving fast around the house half-dancing (the mummers walk), frequently mummers bring musical instruments with them so they may start playing music and dance with the hosts or with each other. While making jokes about the family they are trying to speak in a manner that hosts would not guess who are they. 

When households identified who is the Mummer, he should ‘strip’ -  remove his/her mask.  Not to do so is considered as an abuse to the hosts. If the hosts cant guess who is behind the mask they may try to remove it by force. If the person behind the mask was not identified usually he or she should leave without accepting food or drink. Once identified Mummer revile the mask and return to his normal behavior. 

Source of reference: 

The Folklore of World Holidays / Margaret Read MacDonald// Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research ,1991 P.604-605