My Christmas present is to be present. I have only 24 posts on this blog in 2025 (this is number 25). I won’t make any promises, but hopefully there will be more than that in 2026. It depends on how next year goes. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions because most of them never happen. E.g., if I say I would eat less candy/sweets. Will it happen? No. The same goes for anything. You shouldn’t promise things you can’t keep. You’re lying to yourself and others if you do.
It’s Christmas, and you should be present. So no Internet or social media. If you have a family, spend the holidays with them and not your phone. Stay safe and relax. Christmas is only once a year, Father’s/Mother’s Day is every Autumn/Spring.
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).
I’m taking part in Bloganuary this month. I don’t know if I’m writing every day, though. Today, the subject is a road trip you would love to take? I’ve been on many road trips in Finland. When people from other countries come here, all they see is Helsinki. But that’s not what Finland is about. We have a beautiful country. We might be small, but there are many places to see. Not even Finns themselves will see the whole country during their lifetime. The places I’ve been to is many, so here is places I’ve been to in Eastern Finland. There are cities like Lahti and Savonlinna, which are the places I’m gonna show you here. The photos are from 2009.
Probably the most famous place in Eastern Finland is the ski jumping towers in Lahti. I’ve been up in the biggest towers. You really have to admire those ski jumpers who have the courage to jump from there. It was kind of scary being up there for an ordinary person, but it’s a great experience to see it from that angle.
The next destination is Savonlinna. I was there the first time when I was a child. You see the city from a different angle when you’re an adult. The attraction St. Olaf’s Castle is an impressive sight. In the summer they have an Opera festival there. Other times you can take a walk inside it.
Last not but not least. The museum in Mikkeli, Headquarters museum. It was used as the headquarters during World War 2. Part of it it’s a school and the other a museum. There is a study that Marshal Mannerheim used. It’s a fascinating museum, especially if you’re interested in wartime in Finland.
So if you want to see more of Finland than Helsinki, check out Eastern Finland. The best way to see our country is a road trip. A trip I would love to do is a road trip in my own country. There is a lot of places I haven’t seen but also places I want to see again.
In my world 