Troy and I have been married for eight years. We have only done two Christmases in Finland. There is a significant difference, for me at least, between Finnish Christmas and American Christmas. Troy's dad was born on Christmas Eve so Christmas Eve has always been a birthday celebration for him. Last year we celebrated Finnish Christmas on the 23rd and it was very nice.
This year Troy's mom was very considerate and changed the way the Grossarth family did things. I think this is the first time in decades, or at least as long as I have been in the family. We celebrated Grandpa's birthday on the 23rd and celebrated Finnish Christmas on the 24th.
Barb set up the table very nice with fine china and candle light. My family loves to do this on Christmas where as Troy's family isn't much for it, so her thoughtfulness was amazing.
The menu was pasteija (meat pastries) and lihaliemi (beef broth). Troy's smoked salmon, a delicious spinach salad, and the traditional root vegetable casseroles: porkkanalaatikko (carrot), lanttulaatikko (rutabaga) and perunalaatikko (potato). We drank sparkling cider, which was the kids' favorite. Go figure.
The potato casserole did not taste like potatoes at all, which was ironic because it was supposed to be the neutral and safe dish. Barb liked carrot one the best while Vern liked the rutabaga. Pasteija was a hit with everyone, as it usually is, and salmon turned out delicious.
Next year, I will test some of the casseroles before Christmas to find a good recipe. My family just ate the store bought ones so I don't have trusted family recipes to cook from.
Before we started eating, Saku said to grandpa "isn't this the best birthday ever?". Fortunately, Grandpa didn't starve on his birthday and I think he wouldn't even mind eating the Finnish Christmas menu again.
I was nervous about sharing the traditional Finnish foods with Troy's parents. The food tradition is very dear to my heart as it bring so many happy memories and feelings of love and peace to me. I wasn't sure if they would like the food. Of course this happens, but I didn't want to feel like I had apologize for it or feel like they hated it. It is interesting how protective I felt about my traditions.
I am very grateful for Troy's parents willingness to adjust their Christmas traditions to accommodate mine.
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| Saku mostly ate the salmon and drank sparking cider. |
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| Happy 74th Birthday Vern! Way to try new things! |
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| Eerika pretty must just drank cider. |
After dinner, we had a Christmas concert where the kids took turns singing songs on top of the stage (though for some it might look like a cooler).
They also narrated the Nativity story.
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| I think Eerika is talking about the bright star, but really who knows. |
We set out cookies and milk for joulupukki and checked his location on the Santa Radar. As the kids fell asleep, joulupukki was flying over Guatemala.
I had last minute wrapping to do and didn't get to bed until midnight. I was very excited for the morning and opening presents.
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