Despite the modern times we live in, Christmas in Finland is all about traditions that have been passed down through generations. Unlike most Christian countries where Christmas Day, December 25th, is the primary day of the Christmas celebrations, Finnish families traditionally gather together for festivities on Christmas Eve, December 24th.

It’s also the day when the most famous person living in Finland, Santa Claus, visits well-behaved Finnish children with his sleigh full of Christmas presents.

What else happens in Finnish homes on Christmas Eve each year? Let’s take a little sneak peek into a traditional Christmas in Finland.

Christmas preparations; the lights, the decorations, the flavours

Setting the Christmas spirit begins earlier each year. Christmas carols take over shop aisles, Christmas lights illuminate the darkening streets, millions of Christmas cards are sent to friends and family members, Christmas Markets are held, and sing-along Christmas concerts are organised all over Finland. Soon the approaching holiday season is visible in Finnish homes, too; colourful Christmas lights illuminate the gardens together with candles and ice lanterns, and the houses will be decorated with Santa’s Elves, reindeers, wreaths and Finns’ favourite Christmas flowers, poinsettia and hyacinth. With the delicious smell of gingerbread cookies and Christmas tarts floating in the air, Christmas Eve can finally arrive.

Photo: Visit Finland / Jari Kurvinen (Vastavalo)

Bringing in and decorating the Christmas tree

Bringing in and decorating the Christmas tree is one of the oldest Finnish Christmas traditions that has remained almost unchanged since the 1800s. This year approximately 1,5 million Christmas trees will adorn Finnish households all over the country. For many Finnish families decorating the Christmas tree is the first thing to do in the morning of Christmas Eve as an official beginning of the best day of the year (especially if you ask children). The Christmas tree is often placed in front of a window to spread joy and Christmas spirit also among the people passing by.

Enjoying a hot bowl of Christmas porridge – but who will find the almond?

Another Finnish Christmas tradition dating back to the 1800s is Christmas porridge, traditionally made of rice and milk. Typically Christmas porridge is served with sugar, cinnamon and milk but can also be enjoyed with prunes, apricots or cloudberries. This traditional Christmas Eve breakfast includes one special ingredient: an almond. According to the tradition, good luck will follow the person finding the almond on their plate.

Photo: Visit Finland / Ingela Nyman (Vastavalo)

The Declaration of Christmas Peace

At noon on Christmas Eve, the whole of Finland freezes when Christmas Peace is declared in several Finnish cities. The most popular and well-known event takes place at the Old Great Square in Turku where thousands of Finns gather to listen to the declaration every year. The ones who can’t make it to the gathering may follow the live broadcast on television or radio. This is the moment when the whole of Finland truly gets peaceful; shops will close their doors, and even the public transport gets quieter. Some shops will be shut throughout Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which is good to remember when spending your first Christmas in Finland.

Honouring the deceased

Another Finnish Christmas Eve tradition is to pay a visit to the graveyard and light candles on the graves of the past loved ones. At Christmas, all cemeteries from North to South are illuminated with thousands and thousands of candles. The stunning sea of candles in the dark December night is a sight not to miss.

Christmas sauna – a tradition truly unique to Finland

Christmas sauna is another ancient Christmas tradition Finns aren’t willing to forget. According to some studies, 80 per cent of all Finns go to the sauna on Christmas Eve. Some even state that the lack of Christmas Sauna might ruin the whole holiday. In some families, the sauna is heated up twice during the day; first before dinner and again late at night.

Photo: Visit Finland / Harri Tarvainen

There’s no meal like Christmas dinner

After (the first) Christmas Sauna, it’s time for another Christmas Eve highlight; the dinner. Finns value traditional Christmas food with slowly-roasted ham being the king of the dinner table. Even if a vegetarian diet is becoming more and more popular, Finns still consume 6-7 million kilos of ham over Christmas. Besides the Christmas ham, also potatoes, casseroles, meatballs, fish and mixed beetroot salad are included in the traditional Christmas dinner – not to forget chocolate, Christmas pastries and gingerbread cookies, of course.

‘Are there any well-behaved children in the house?’

Tummies full of Christmas treats, it’s finally time to gather around the fireplace, relax on the sofa and enjoy some glögi, a traditional hot Christmas drink similar to Mulled Wine.

Suddenly, a gentle knock on the door breaks the silence. It’s followed by a sentence familiar to all kids in Finland; ‘Are there any well-behaved children in the house?’

Who else could it be but Santa, the most awaited Christmas guest in all families worldwide and the one final highlight of a memorable Christmas in Finland.

Photo: Visit Finland / Jani Kärppä & Flatlight Films

Did you know that more than 300,000 tourists travel to Finland in December? Find the perfect rental cottage on Gofinland and start planning your white Christmas in Finnish Lapland now.

Hyvää joulua!

Photo by Visit Finland/Soili Jussila

Finland is a country of four beautiful seasons, all of which have their unique characters. Yet, most tourists visit Finland either in summer or winter. This is what most tour operators, travel sites and guides advice you to do, too. As summer is slowly drifting away and Finns are getting ready for the brisk autumn air, we want to embrace this beautiful season by revealing the secrets of autumn in Finland.

There are plenty of exciting and exquisite things to do in Finland in autumn that you can’t experience at any other time of the year. Also, as most tourists consider autumn being between seasons, travelling to Finland in autumn is much more peaceful and cheaper compared to summer and winter.

To some extent, autumn might even be the best possible time to visit Finland. And now it’s time to tell you why.

Autumn colours should be on everyone’s bucket list

The most visible sign of the approaching autumn in Finland is the vibrant colours of the foliage. ‘Ruska’, as we call it in Finnish. During this relatively short period, you can spot all the colours of a rainbow at one glance. Imagine standing by a blue lake while the autumn sun reflects all the reds, yellows, oranges and whatever is left of the green on the surface of the water. The air feels fresh, and the last warm rays of sunshine are gently touching your face.

Photo by Visit Finland/Olli Oilinki

Photo by Visit Finland/Carmen Nguyen

Is there anything better than that?

There are plenty of excellent ways to enjoy autumn colours in Finland. Here are a few of them:

Go hiking

Take a walk in a nearby forest, head for one of the 40 national parks in Finland or choose one of the most famous and well-built trails, like Karhunkierros in Kuusamo or Herajärvi Trail in Koli.

Pro tip: It’s true that you can experience ruska as its strongest in Lapland, but it’s not necessary to travel all the way up north for autumn foliage. Try Porkkalanniemi in Helsinki, Turku Archipelago or Finnish Lakeland in Central Finland, for instance, to experience the true colours of autumn in Finland.

Interested in hiking in Finland? Read our guide with the best trekking locations and trails.

Photo by Visit Finland/Aleksi Koskinen

Spend a day at a lake

Autumn colours seem even more vibrant when admiring them from the lake. Few-hour foliage cruises are organised across Finland between the end of August and mid-October. Don’t hesitate to contact the tourist info of your travel destination in Finland to find out where the nearest ‘ruskaristeily’ takes place.

Pro tip: Another great idea is to gather your friends and rent a sauna boat. As the name unveils, sauna boat is a small vessel with an actual sauna on board. They usually feature a comfy lounge and a small kitchen. The fanciest sauna boats are equipped with an outdoor jacuzzi. Sauna boats are available in various locations throughout Finland.

Pump up the adrenaline on a marathon

Ruskamaraton a.k.a. ‘Foliage Marathon’ is a popular running event that has been organised in Levi, Lapland since 1984. If hiking in a national park or climbing to the top of the Finnish fells isn’t quite enough to get your adrenaline running, Ruskamaraton should do the trick. Besides the excellent exercise and like-minded adrenaline junkies, you get to admire the beautiful autumn colours in Finnish Lapland.

Finnish autumn is delicious – discover how to enjoy it

There are reasons why hundreds of thousands of Finns can’t wait for September to arrive. Flowers might not be blooming anymore, but Finnish forests offer a wide range of other treats that anyone is allowed to enjoy. And they are delicious!

In autumn, our forests will be full of wild mushrooms with approximately 500 edible species. Also, some of the most delicious vitamin-filled berries and wild herbs are at their best at autumn time.

You’re allowed to pick mushrooms and berries almost in any forest. If you haven’t heard of Finnish ‘freedom to roam’, you can find our extensive guide here.

Photo byt Visit Finland/Riku Pihlanto

Try at least these mushrooms

Besides the edible and delicious species, also poisonous mushrooms grow in Finnish forests. Therefore you should only pick the species you know. Some of the easiest and the most common ones are chantarelle, trumpet chantarelle, porcino, hedgehog mushroom and Russula decolorans. Learn to recognise these, and you won’t be leaving the forest empty-handed.

Learn more about Finnish wild mushrooms here.

Wild berries are the real superfood

Picking wild berries is a perfect hobby; you get to enjoy some fresh air and other benefits of being in nature while filling your storages with Finnish superfood. No wonder the studies reveal that half of the Finns run to forests to pick wild berries every autumn. Some berries are perfectly fine for picking until they’re covered in snow and impossible to find. Try at least blueberry, cranberry, rowanberry, juniper berry, lingonberry and sea-buckthorn, to get started.

Learn more about Finnish wild berries here.

Photo by Visit Finland

Enjoy fooling fish? Autumn is the best time to do it!

Some might think summer is the ideal time for fishing in Finland. In reality, the cooling autumn waters put fish on the move. The fish swim towards their wintering areas in large shoals and stop for fueling in shallow waters where they’re easy to catch. Pike and perch often gather in shallow bays with reeds, whereas zander flocks in deep streams which makes it easy to snatch under bridges, for instance.

Read more about fishing in Finland and find the best places to do it.

Photo Visit Finland/Marko Tervonen

Finland is a birdwatcher’s paradise

As Finland is one of the northernmost countries in the world and also one of the easternmost in Europe, it’s possible to spot birds that are extremely rare in anywhere else in Europe. In spring and autumn, Finland becomes birdwatchers paradise when migrating species are taking over the fields and skies. If you’re into birdwatching (or even if not but you’re eager to try), try Hanko, Porkkalanniemi in Kirkkonummi, Kustaanmiekka in Helsinki or Virolahti on the South Coast, Pulkkilanharju ridge in Asikkala or Kokemäenjoki River with its delta that is often considered as one of the best birdwatching spots in the Nordics.

Autumn events in Finland celebrate the harvest and Baltic herring

Summer might be over, but fun, tasty and communal events aren’t. Some autumnal traditions have lived strong for centuries, and they still are. One of them is the harvest festival, also known as ‘kekri’ or ‘köyri’, that celebrates the end of the crop year in a very delicious way. For example in Åland, the harvest festival gathers everyone together for free full days – including locals, tourists and of course, the local farmers and producers – to eat, dance and sing. If you’re looking for a harvest festival in the mainland Finland, try Archipelago Harvest Festival in Nauvo, Turku Archipelago.

Another popular autumn event is called Baltic Herring Market. Despite the name, the market isn’t just about the herring or fish in general, but any local products. The oldest herring market in Finland takes place in Helsinki where it first landed back in 1743. Besides Helsinki, the herring market tradition blooms especially on the West Coast of Finland; for example Turku, Kustavi, Rauma, Pori and Kaskinen enjoy this vibrant and tasty market event every autumn.

Photo by Visit Finland/Harri Tarvainen

The aurora season is ON!

Many people mistakenly think that the northern lights only appear in the middle of winter in -30-degree temperatures. False. In reality, it’s possible to spot the aurora in Finland as soon as the light summer nights are gone and the evenings begin to get darker. This year (2018), the first views of the northern lights were spotted – not only in Lapland but also in the south – in mid-August.

Here’s a fun fact for you; Autumn in Finland is one the best possible periods for aurora-spotting. The season is at its strongest in September around the autumnal equinox.

Another fun fact; Staying up for auroras is much more pleasant in the autumn when you don’t have to worry about hypothermia.

If you want to learn more about aurora-spotting in Finland, you can find our extensive article about northern lights here.

Autumn storms, fireplace and candles make a perfect setting for a romantic cottage getaway

When travelling to Finland in autumn, you get to experience the exciting change of the climate. You can spend your days outdoors, where the temperature might still rise up to +20 degrees. As soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops rapidly. At night, it might even get below zero. This is when sauna becomes the best place on Earth.

The dark and cold autumn nights can be magical. Imagine hearing the strong wind blowing outdoors as you’re comfortably next to a blazing fireplace, wearing woolly socks and sipping a hot drink while cuddling your loved one under a shared blanket.

This is how Finnish autumn can be at its best; doing all the things listed in this article and, after a fantastic day, relaxing at a cottage feeling like there’s nothing or no one else in the world. Who wouldn’t love autumn in Finland?

Here’s an extra tip for your cottage getaway: find a cottage with an outdoor jacuzzi and lift your autumn experience up a notch. Nothing feels better than bathing in a hot tub, feeling the brisk autumn air touching the face while admiring the northern lights dancing in the sky above the lake.

Photos: Visit Finland Media Bank

Each year, an independent market research company Taloustutkimus carries out a study revealing the best travel destinations in Finland. In 2017, almost 4,000 Finnish people took part in the research expressing their opinion of which cities, towns and municipalities they think to have the most impressive brand regarding travel and tourism.

You might think the Finnish capital city Helsinki would overpower the list year after year. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Helsinki is included in the top 4, but what would you think; Which 3 Finnish towns rank better than the capital?

Let’s find out which destinations are included in the top 10 and what they have to offer for travellers! Perhaps you’ll find your next travel destination in this list. Almost 4,000 Finns can’t be wrong, can they?

Cover photo by Visit Finland

Easter in Finland is an exciting mix of flavours, history and traditions. The religious roots of the Christian feast are still visible today. Besides celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, Easter in Finland is all about welcoming the long-awaited spring after the dark and cold winter months. It’s often considered as planting the seeds for happiness and health for the approaching summer season.

In some countries, you need to drive for hours to reach roads surrounded by forests, fields and lakes. In Finland, it’s exactly the opposite. Nature is around you everywhere, even in urban areas. Yet, for some weird reason, Finland is hardly ever the first option for travellers planning their next road trip.

This article is created not only to encourage you choosing Finland as your next road trip destination but to give you a comprehensive guide for the things to take into consideration prior to the trip. Your guide for planning a successful road trip in Finland is filled with practical tips, rules of the road, explaining how the rules vary between seasons and, last but not least, some great suggestions for routes to take.

Are you ready? Let’s hit the road!

Did you know that there are more than 500,000 cottages, holiday homes and villas in Finland? Most cabins are perfectly habitable all year round, even through winter, and filled with modern comfort and conveniences. Not all cottage owners want or need to use their holiday homes at all times. Instead of keeping the cottages empty, they’re renting them out to travellers who want to experience real Finnish lifestyle.

But have YOU, as a traveller, ever considered choosing a rental cottage over a hotel room for your holiday? In case you now find yourself shaking your head and thinking ‘hell no’, this article is worth reading.

As the largest rental cottage marketplace in the country, Gofinland currently has more than 7,000 cottages to choose from. This article provides you with 7 proven reasons why renting a cottage beats staying in a hotel any time of the year.

In Finland it’s very easy to arrange adventurous excursions and experiences, even for a short visit. Wild nature is near everywhere you go, even in the capital city Helsinki.

Helsinki is also a popular stopover destination especially when flying between Asia and Europe. As you might guess, the capital offers plenty of things to do, even if you had only a few hours in the city.

Planning a trip with a stopover in Helsinki is getting so popular these days that Finland’s leading airline Finnair created its own stopover program for international travelers. You can spend up to 5 days in Finland before your connecting flight, but how to decide how to spend those stopover days?

The easy way is to book tailored tours, when your tour operator will take care of the transport between the airport and your stopover destinations as well. Adventurous travelers might want to plan an unforgettable stopover in Helsinki all by themselves.

Are you one of them? Read on, because we have some suggestions how to plan an unforgettable stopover in Helsinki with 4 interesting itineraries for adventurous and outdoorsy travelers.

2017 is an important and eventful year in Finland. To celebrate 100 years of independence, hundreds and hundreds of interesting events related to history, culture, sports and nature are being organized all over the country, every month throughout the year.

Listing all of the top events in Finland in 2017 would make an impossible task, but to give you an idea, we chose some of the most fascinating events that you should add to your calendar in case you’re planning to visit Finland during the year of celebration. If Finland still remains unticked on your bucket list, 2017 is definitely the year to make your travel dream come true.

The last few months of 2016 were pure celebration for Finland; Many international hot stream medias highlighted Finland in their headlines trying to convince travelers all over the world that Finland truly is the top destination for 2017.

It all started when Lonely Planet listed Finland as the 3rd best travel destination in the whole world. Soon after also National Geographic and Financial Times, among others, followed Lonely Planet’s example.

There’s no doubt we wouldn’t agree with the headlines, but at the same time a rumor started to go around stating Finland, and especially Lapland, being fully booked in 2017. While the hotels are busy with tourists, there are thousands and thousands of empty cottages available for holiday rental throughout the country.

Therefore we want to present 6 outstanding beach cabins in Finland where to stay during your visit. After all, you’ll get the best feeling for the Finnish way of living if you choose a cottage over a hotel.

Finland is often referred to as a true Winter Wonderland – for a good reason. In Finnish Lapland the winter lasts 7 months on average. For the majority of international travelers, snow itself is an attraction and a reason to travel to Finland.

For decades many winter destinations in Finland have lifted the snowy experiences up a notch: Each winter, dozens of unique structures are built out of snow and ice all over the country, from the world’s largest snow castle to wedding chapels, ice restaurants and even saunas.

This winter, to celebrate Finland’s 100th birthday, the very first Cave Ice Carving World Championships will be organized in the municipality of Leppävirta in the Finnish lakeland. The contest will bring along even more unique ice sculptures for travelers to admire.

Let’s have a closer look at the unique winter destinations in Finland, with the most amazing structures built of snow and ice, shall we!