Finnish Christmas Traditions

Santa Claus aka Joulupukki

»tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la«

Since Christmas is just around the corner we will present some Christmas (winter) traditions that are typical in Finland around Christmastime.

First Sunday in December
The first Sunday – the First Advent – starts the Finnish Christmas season and the first candle is being lit. Many children use advent calendars to count down the remaining days to Christmas Eve. Calendars come in many forms, from paper calendars to painted wooden boxes where you can store small gifts for each day leading to Christmas.

Independence Day celebrations

Finnish Independence day
After the first weekend of Advent, Finns celebrate their Independence day, which coincides with the feast day of Saint Nicholas on December 6th. For Finnish people, this is a very patriotic day and they light up special white-and-blue candles for the celebration. This tradition dates back to the 19th century as then two candles were the mark of Finnish nationalism. The highlight of this national holiday is staying at home and watching Presidential Independence Day Reception – so basically Finns celebrate their independence by watching other people party. Pretty weird right?

Pikkujoulut – little pre-christmas parties
All through December there are many “pikkujulout” or pre-Christmas parties held to anticipate Christmas. Usually, co-workers, sports clubs, organizations or just groups of friends come up with fun activities to celebrate before Christmas. Pikkujoulu is non-formal and highly festive party and if you move to Finland, you will have at least one (if not many) of them.

The Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is brought to the Finnish home latest by 24th of December. One interesting fact is that since 1954, Helsinki has donated a Christmas tree to Brussels.

Biggest celebration on the Christmas Eve
In the Nordic countries, the most important Christmas celebration takes place on the Christmas Eve. Everyone tries to be home for Christmas, including fishermen who try to get their boats into harbour by December 21st. Christmas Eve traditions include Christmas sauna and preparation of the dinner which is served between 5 and 7 pm. Some families also visit cemeteries to remember the loved ones. The highlight of the evening comes when Santa knocks on the door and give children the presents. Santa Claus (or Father Christmas - Joulupukki), according to Finns, lives in north part of Finland called Korvatunturi.

never without sauna

Christmas food
Some people say that when it comes to Finnish Christmas food, there are two key things: quality and quantity. Some typical dishes are:
* Salmon (the queen of Finnish Christmas food) and herring
* Beetroot salad
* Christmas ham
* Rice pudding – it is almost always served on the last day of school before the Christmas holiday starts and many families also eat it as lunch on Christmas Eve. On this occasion, Finns usually hide an almond in the porridge and person who finds it gets a wish.
* Christmas treats: gingerbread, Joulutorttu (star-shaped plum pastries, plum quark)

Joulutorttu

Rice pudding

Christmas day
Christmas day is time for rest and relaxation and Finns usually spend it with their families. The next day, on Boxing day (26th December) people visit their friends and relatives and go out for skiing. Christmas in Finland does not officially end until 13 days after Christmas Day, which makes the holiday truly a season, as opposed to a single-day celebration. After Christmas holidays it is time to get prepared to welcome the New Year. Christmas ends with Epiphany, January 6th.


And if you fancy learning some Finnish for the end here are some unique Christmas greetings:
* Hyvää joulua – Merry Christmas
* Rauhallista joulua – Peaceful Christmas
* Hauskaa joulua – Fun Christmas
* Valoisaa joulua – Bright Christmas
* Ihanaa joulua – Lovely Christmas

So until now you have probably realized “joulu” means Christmas. For the end of this article, we wish to all of you Hyvää Joulua and hope that you spend it with your family and loved ones.

Tjaša Ocvirk

Student benefits - Living cheap in an expensive country

How expensive is living in Finland? Yes, it is true that Finland belongs to one of the more expensive countries in Europe. But we can tell you there is hope. Because Finland is taking good care of their citizens and specially of their students. There are a lot of discounts and benefits available for students - and these apply for every student - also exchange and international degree students.

In fact there are actually so many different benefits, that you can sometimes get lost in them and forget to use them. That’s why we decided to write you a blog post about some of the benefits (there are literally so many, that we are not able to list them all).


Student Union & Student Card
Becoming a student union member is the most important step you do to become eligible to many of the student benefits. It is optional for exchange, visiting and PhD students but obligatory for Bachelor's and Master's level degree students and everyone living in Kortepohja student village to join the Student Union. But we would highly recommend it. If you join the Student Union you can get a student card or a digital version (Frank App) which both work to proof your student status and your student union membership.

As a member of the Student Union you are eligible to
* health care at the Finnish Student Health Service
* student-priced meals in student cafeterias (in general a student priced meal cost 2,60€). There are plenty of student restaurants all over Jyväskylä. Check them out here.
* 30-50% off the price in trains and long-distance buses (see below)

Read more about the Student Union membership benefits and the student cards here.

Also JYU has created a webpage which list many of the student benefits. Check it out here.

Frank App
After registering for the Student Union you get credentials for the Frank App, when you login to the Frank App you see a list of literally hundreds of discounts for restaurants, travel, shops and more. It is definitely worth checking out - because we can guarantee that you to find a useful discount for you there. Go to check out your Frank App discounts here (only possible if you are already registered in the Student Union)

Kortepohja @Nordic Art Network

Housing
We already had a full blogpost on this topic (check the blog post here). But if you apply on time you can get an studio or a room in an apartment of one of the student housing (KOAS and Kortepohja) which offers cheap living for students.


Public transport
As mentioned above when you become a student union member you are eligible to the student discounts on public transport like Linkki (the local bus service), VR (trains in Finland) and long distance buses like Onnibus and Savonlinja. If you want to book a bus trip the easiest way to find the best option for you is to search on Matkahuolto, because on that page all buses and prices are listed which makes it easier to compare them all.
One important fact to know, for the trains and the long distance buses often also (online) discounts exist and sometimes the online discount is even cheaper than the student price. So it makes sense to compare the discount price and the student price! :)

Food
K market
As a student you can get a free K-Plussa-card from Kmarket (which is one of the biggest supermarket chains in Jyväskylä). With the student K-Plussa card you get a 5% discount on your shopping if the overall amount exceeds 75€ per month. Check out more here or ask for more information in the next K-market.

Restaurants & Bars
Next to the big variety of student restaurants, there are plenty of restaurants in town which give a student discount on their foods and drinks when you show your student card. Examples for that are Revolution, Venn, and Maria Pizzeria.

Subject associations
For every faculty a subject association exists. We are going to write a complete blog post about that soon. But just keep in mind usually you can become a member of your faculties subject association for a small, one-time payment. After joining you are eligible to all the benefits they offer to their members. Subject associations offer variety of events (cultural and/or educational). Additionally, they often also have specific discounts for restaurants, bar or shops, which are only available for there members.


Okay, that's it for now! Thanks for reading! Have a great day and check out your discounts :)

Master Application: Facebook Live Q&A Seminar on 11th of December

The next application round for our international, two-year, English-taught Master's programmes is open 8-22 January 2020.

Do you have questions about the application process, which documents are required and how they should be sent? If so, join us for our Facebook Live session on Wednesday, 11.12 at 16:00.

Check out our Facebook event !

Our student ambassadors and staff from the admission services are there to answer your questions.
We hope to see you there!

On-campus recruitment fairs: DuunIT & Nanoscience Business Days

DuunIT 2019
Agora 5.11-6.11

DuunIT is an on-campus recruitment fair, held every autumn, specifically targeted at the students of the IT faculty. For students, it’s their great opportunity to find an internship or junior position in the field of their interest.

This year, the number of participating companies grew from 35 to 40, from various areas, including IT services, civil engineering, business consultant, banking, accounting, government administration, etc. This year students could also win a lottery (free lunch for 30 days!) if they visited 2 companies in both days.

picture by Duunit-messut

picture by Duunit-messut

At DuunIT you can talk to their HR or even CTO about your career plan, and may end up with a job interview! Although this is organized by IT faculty, Cogito Association, Dumppi Association and Linkki Jyväskylä Association, it welcomes job hunters from other fields too.

photo by Yindong

Nanoscience Business Days 2019
NSC 22.11

A regular event recruitment fair for science students was held at the end of November. The data coincide with Slush event, however none of the participants has rejected their invitations.

The following companies were present during the event

The format of the event included 10 minutes pitch talk from each of the companies, exhibition in the main hall of the Nanoscience building, group laboratory tours and, of course, a sauna event that concluded the day.
The guest companies have told about their businesses and recruitment possibilities for Nanoscience students. During the exhibition students could personally talk to human resource managers from visiting companies get more specific information and establish the connection. The most notable guests this year were Bluefors and IQM, companies that specialize in the production of components for quantum processors such as, for instance, dilution refrigerators. Needless to say, these companies are booming at the moment, for instance, Bluefors has reported to employ 27 new people in the past month and that is a lot.
Overall it was a very cozy event, with a friendly atmosphere. No rush and no stress, students could take their time to really dig into the companys’ businesses and possibly find themselves an internship, master thesis topic or even a full-time position.

 Photo by Heikkinen Tanja

   

Student Stories - Max and Toni, two true nature lovers

Toni

Hi Toni and Max, how is life going?

Toni: Pretty well considering we are baking cookies at the moment
Max: It is getting dark and depressing though. But we are trying to keep busy…

So tell me again what you study and how you ended up in Finland?

Max: We study biology of physical activity at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences.
Toni: Yes, we major in biomechanics. But hmm how I ended up in Finland, I would say it is a mixture between my love for nature and my bachelor’s thesis supervisor. He knew
about the programme and recommended it to me.

So I feel like it must be quite nice to study in Jyväskylä where you have nature everywhere you go?

Toni: Um yes absolutely, although I haven't been able to explore it that much yet. After all this is my first year in the north and I have been quite busy with the studies. If I had more time I would for sure spend it outside, but I think being busy studying was actually a good thing. Just what I was looking for – another academic challenge.

What was your first impression of the city?

Max

Max: I came to Jyväskylä the first time in my bachelors for a study abroad class during May and I thought it was a beautiful and really cute city when I first got here. The people were quite friendly and helpful to tourists and international students and I remember going for a run around the lake and knew I would be happy coming back and studying here. Also I saw Laajis and the terrain park when I was first here and that was a pretty sweet bonus as well as a freestyle skier
Toni: It was the end of August when I arrived so the days were pretty much already normal. There were many trees and lakes wherever I looked. But in general, I think Finland is not the country that you fall in love in the first moment when you come here. In my case is, the more I get to know it, the more sides I see.

You feel like now that you have stayed here for a longer time you have grown to like it?

Toni: Yea, I think so. But then again I was also pretty nervous before coming here, so that blurred my picture a little bit. I am really excited about the winter and that made autumn not as bad as people told me it was going to be.

So November wasn’t that depressing?

Toni: Actually not, the excitement for winter wonderland always overruled it. I really want to go ice skating on the lake and I would love to do actual longer hike with skis for a week – just going around and sleeping in the huts. I have not planned any trips yet but we will see what the cold weather brings. Also husky safari is on my bucket list…

Max in baking action

Max: I’ve been trying to spend time hanging out with friends like doing movie nights and stuff. Also been trying to call friends and family back home to try to get through the depressing days. Also staying active and getting outside I think is really important to feel accomplished on a day to day basis. Even if the weather is really shitty and depressing you feel good if you went to the gym that day and had a good workout…

Yes, I think that keeping yourself busy is one of the best ways to forget about the darker days and rainy weather. Toni, you have travelled a lot and been in other countries. How do you feel like Finland is different from other countries?

Toni: Many things seem to take part inside here and it takes some time to get to know everyone and find your way. It is quite different to other countries. Actually, a lot of times I feel like Finland is so much more down to earth than other places. Sometimes when you travel, people are overly friendly and then it turns out to be superficial. But here in Finland, you don’t get that - actually it can feel weird in the first moment when you get here (if you have travelled a lot). It is funny, in my travel book the quote they chose for Finland said: if you smile at someone and they don't smile back, smile even more because the person who isn't able to return a smile is in most desperate need of one – and I think it is a little bit like that. This is one of the biggest differences comparing to other countries. That people kind of mind their own business and they might not be overly friendly at the start, but once you get to know them they show you their true self – in most cases that is not superficial and they usually really care.

What about you Max?

Max: Well I haven't lived in any other countries than USA and comparing to that is quite different. It is pretty interesting to live in a place where people don’t speak your language. It’s pretty cool, I feel like it is very exotic.

Do you have favourite places here?

Toni: I do really like Laajavuori. It was especially nice during the autumn with leaves of different colours. One time, I went running with my friend and it was so pretty. You are basically living in the city but after running for 5 minutes you are already in the forest. Oh yes, and I also tried typical finnish “Frisbee-golfing”.

How was that?

Toni: I think the word trying describes it really well. Max, you also like Laajavuori right?
Max: Yea, I am basically sure that Laajavuori will become my favourite place because of skiing. I haven’t spent that much time here and explored all the places. I like it around the lakes a lot, especially Jyväsjärvi. In the summer it was nice because it was green and bright but also during the autumn it was amazing because trees exchanged colours.

So besides going around the lake and playing frisbee golf, what else do you do in your free time? 

Toni doing some cookie design

Toni: Movie nights – a lot of them. Also running and visiting my friendship family. If you are a person who is quite close to your family then I think this Friendship Family programme that is offered by University is really nice thing. I miss the concept of family a lot and whenever we meet with my finnish family, I feel so relaxed because I don’t have to worry about my studies and I can distance myself from the student life. Getting out of your student bubble and being surrounded by normal family problems actually feels pretty nice.

Max, do you have a friendship family here?

Max: No I don't have friendship family here, but speaking of, my family is visiting me in Finland for Christmas. We will visit Lapland and stay in an ice hotel there. Hopefully we will be lucky with the weather and can catch some northern lights. We are also visiting The Santa Clause village and plan to do a husky safari.

That sounds like a perfect winter holiday. But when you come back from Christmas, you have more classes right? Do you like University of Jyväskylä in general?

Toni: I feel like the university cares so much for their students. Student union is amazing and how much they care about students works really well. I haven't had that in my previous university in Germany. They put so much emphasis on student well-being here . Overall I am happy with my choice.
Max: Yes and the benefits of being a student are amazing here in Finland. University restaurants for example, they provide cheap and diverse meals for students everyday. Also going to the gym for free and living in the student accommodation are a big advantages.

How do you think your experience here has changed you so far?

cookies :)

Toni: I feel like it actually has changed me a little. It made me more motivated again. I feel like I am getting more connected to my field of studying. It is nice because I can focus on the things I find most interesting and explore that topic. I feel like I lost that at some point during my bachelor studies. Here you have so many opportunities where you can choose whatever you want to focus on. I feel like our programme encourages you to focus on your own development and not that much on the grades. That makes it even more motivated and I always feel good because in the end I do it for myself and not just to get the degree certificate.
Max: I am just riding this train and see where it goes. If I compare living in Finland and studying here, compared to my previous studies, it is that it has help me build my independence. I think the university system puts a lot of responsibility to you. Sometimes, this can be hard because you have to push yourself really hard, but it also helps you to recognize what you are actually interested in. And it feels pretty amazing when you enjoy what you are exploring.

Thank you for your time both, and now let's bake some cookies!

Tjaša Ocvirk

Finnish language in everyday life

Nina Huisman

Okay, so you are queuing to pay for your groceries at a supermarket (most likely it is a K-market, they are everywhere around town). You’ve taken your Survival Finnish course and you are confident that you can go by with the simplest sentences. The cashier addresses you with the classic yet useful “Moi”, you reply with a “Moi” of your own trying to hide your accent, pronunciation is perfect so far. He  ?bips ? your bananas, then the way too many long drinks that you have bought for a party happening soon…”bip”, “bip” they go. And at the end, smiling with that treacherous smile he says  ?Kuittia?¨. OH YOU ARE READY FOR THIS! You go to your basic conversation skills and remember that this strange word means “Receipt ? and confidently you reply “Ei kiitos”.

“Done!” you say to yourself “They must think I’m from Kuopio at this point” you think, smiling while you start stacking your stuff into your backpack. And then, a strange series of sounds come out of the cashier ?s mouth while he shows you a strange looking piece of paper. A million thoughts go through your brain; “Have I stolen something accidentally?”, “Are you telling me I should stop taking so many long drinks?”, “ I thought you said receipt earlier!”. A tear is about to roll down your face, you are desperate, you stare at this eyes, looking for a complicit look because you know the end is here….

And then, out of nowhere, in english, with an accent so perfect that could rival that of the members of the british parliament themselves he says “ Hey! You won a coupon of 5 euros for your next purchase! Congratulations”. You are going to hold on to that coupon for the rest of your life…

Maybe I dramatized a bit here! ;) But it is true! Perhaps not with the prettiest accent but almost everyone in Finland speaks conversational english. If you are worried about the need to learn the language you can already forget about it! On top of that, finns are extremely nice to foreigners and they ?ll help out with any language related problems you face.

However, as part of your curriculum, many MSc programmes require you to take a couple of finnish credits which allow you to learn just enough to understand basic greetings, directions and ask for help in case you needed. We really encourage you to take such courses, on top of learning survival stuff, you can also learn a couple of jokes and insults in finnish which may pay off when you are trying to have fun with the locals.