Tag: Finland

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 20

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Christmas balls, stars and light part 20
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Day 20

It’s four days until Christmas Eve; tomorrow, it’s the Winter Solstice. This means the days will become longer, and the darkness will slowly disappear. This Christmas, there won’t be snow in Southern Finland. It’s a shame because snow makes it lighter. Now it’s boring, and it doesn’t feel like a holiday at all. There won’t be snow in the place where I’m spending my Christmas time, so it doesn’t matter. Most of the time, I’m on a ship; what matters most is that there is no storm on the open sea. Eating and a rocking cruise ship are not a good combination. Screen name; Been there, done that.

Christmas Eve in Finland is when you eat Christmas dishes and open presents (if you have any). I don’t really care about the dishes, so I don’t bother doing them myself. I’m going on a cruise, so I don’t need to. I only eat one or two slices of baked ham, rutabaga casserole (but only if I made it myself), salted herring and salmon. Those are the most common Finnish dishes on Christmas. I’m more into sweet things like gingerbread cookies, pinecone-shaped cake, chocolates and Christmas pastries. Even as a kid, I couldn’t wait for dinner to be over so we could move to the desserts. I usually bake Christmas pastries with plum jam from ready-made dough, but I think it wastes time since I’m alone. They get mouldy before I have time to eat them. Even when Dad was around, they still didn’t last. Store-bought pastries don’t taste the same.

It’s good that the days will be longer and the darkness will come later. In Finland, it gets darker at 3:30 p.m. and lighter at about 9:30 a.m. And that’s in the South of Finland. Imagine how it is up north at this time. But when the Winter Solstice arrives, things will become nicer again. Christmas doesn’t only mean the end of 2024 is near but also that the spirit will rise, and it’s time to relax (for those who can).

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 8

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Christmas balls, stars and light part 8
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Day 8

In the lack of sunlight, may I offer you an artificial moon? My city of Turku has a light show called Path of Light that goes along the river. Today, Sunday is the last day. This moon is on one of the bridges. This bridge is close to the city theatre, and they will be having The Adams Family musical next year in the Autumn, so it’s part of the path. The moon showed shadow figures once in a while. The Path of Light was last year, too, but I missed it then. It was a lovely evening walk in these dark times. A shame they don’t keep it longer. It was only for 4 days. It won’t replace the sunlight, but it would have been a little lighter outside.

artifical moon
Photo: ©Mia Salminen

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 7

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Christmas balls, stars and light part 7
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What positive events have taken place in your life over the past year?

Daily Writing Prompt

Day 7

After my Dad died on February 8 this year, I had at least one positive event to feel optimistic about. I went to see Bryan Adams in concert in Tampere, Finland, on July 5. I bought the ticket before my Dad died, but I never got a chance to tell him. I always said where I was going, whether for education or an event. It probably didn’t matter since my Dad knew little about foreign music anyway. He didn’t mind what was playing on the radio. I got my love for music from my mother, I suppose. When she was young, The Beatles and Elvis was a big thing. My Dad always asked when I went to events or saw a movie what I would see or how it was. Now, I don’t have anyone to tell, and not even on social media people seem to have enough time or care to react. It wouldn’t be the same anyway.

I will see Bryan Adams next year because it was so much fun. He does not only play music but also interacts with the audience. This time, the concert will be in Helsinki, closer to Autumn. Next year, I’ll go to four different concerts. You only live once, so why not fill the vessel of concerts with many events in one year? The first concert is only 85 days away. If this question were asked next year, I would be able to give more positive events than today. One positive event is better than nothing at all, right?

Music is not the only positive event that I’ve attended. I’ve also been to several ice hockey games. They were fun, even if my team lost some of them. The atmosphere is always great, and you see your favourite team play. The latest positive event I attended was in Helsinki, where the photography course I’ve taken had a VIP day on November 25. Even if I’m not an entrepreneur yet, I met many of them. It was nice to see other people for a change. I’ve got a lot of new information about marketing your business: lights and wireless microphones. It was a great day.

As I wrote, the vessel to positive events will continue next year. Who knows what else will happen.