Christmas in Turku’s Burgher Households During the 1800s

During the darkest time of the year, burgher family homes were filled with a warm festive atmosphere. Satin bands wrapped around the curtains and dining table resembled that of the French court. The home was filled with the smell of warm spices and branches of spruce trees, which were used to decorate the rooms.

Nowadays, our very familiar Christmas traditions, such as presents, cards, the tree, and Santa Claus, all have their roots in the 19th century burgher family city homes and the Christmases celebrated then. What is more, many of the Christmas delicacies, like ham and gingerbread, stem from the Christmas tables of burgher families. The rural Christmas we perceive as traditionally idyllic today is actually an imitation of the Middle European city Christmas, which has roots in Christianity and brings customs and beliefs from the Harvest Festival.

Good Thomas Brought Christmas, Evil Knut Took It Away

In 19th century Turku people prepared for the Christmas celebrations during most of the year.

— Christmas beer was brewed, candles were poured, meals were prepared, and the home was cleaned and decorated well in advance for the Christmas holidays, says Tuula Hänninen, Producer of Audience Engagement at the Museum Centre of Turku.

On St. Thomas’ Day, December 21, people began celebrating Christmas. On the darkest day of the year all hard work had to be completed, because on St. Thomas’ Day everyone settled down and devoted their time to rest and being together with the family. The burgher house was in tip-top shape and decorated with spruce branches and velvet bands. The tables had white tablecloths and the Christmas food waited to be eaten.

The preparations culminated on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when the families quieted down to read the Christmas Gospel, sing Christmas Songs, enjoy abundant Christmas food, and play games with the family members. Many of the Turku inhabitants also went to see the declaration of Christmas peace and to church. It was a common belief that the first person, who made it out on the street from the church would get good fortune the following year.

The wilder Christmas celebrations started only on Boxing Day, when the sleighs were strapped in order to go around for visits. The holidays lasted until Epiphany or St. Knut’s Day, depending on customs of the household. Where the good Thomas brought Christmas, the evil Knut took it away, after which followed a long period of no celebrations.

The Christmas Dinner Is Served By Proper People

On the Christmas tables of a 19th century Turku burgher family, there was a mix of court culture and the customs of abundant feasting from the harvest season. As food on the Christmas table there was traditionally bread, potato salad, fish, and ham, with which there was pudding and jelly. The burgher families also ate Christmas porridge made from barley.

— The table was crowned with a tower of bread, consisting of bread made from different kinds of grain, and a lucky bread called “kylvökakko”, which was not eaten and instead kept through the feasts of the Christmas holidays and all the way to spring, when it was time to sow the ground. With the abundance of bread, the people sought good fortune for the coming year, says Hänninen.

Even though Christmas beer was drunk in abundance in almost every family, the burgher households also clinked glasses containing better imported wines. The French court was imitated with better Christmas dishes, dinner table customs, and decorative table settings. From the merchant ships some may have bought oysters and different wines that were served at the Christmas table.

At the coffee table people feasted on dried fruitcake, sugar breads, meringues, croquembouches, and marmalade. Gingerbreads were also eaten, because it was believed that they had positive health benefits.

The Smell of Spruce and the Rustle of Wrapping Paper

When the streets of Turku were dark, the homes were lit by candle light and the long holidays were spent playing games and casting tin. Based on the shapes of the cast tin people tried to predict the harvest of the coming year and good fortunes on the love front.

According to Kaisa Koiviston, Hannele Nymanin, and Marjo-Riitta Saloniemen (2009), the traditions we know — Santa Claus, Christmas decorations and presents — stem from Germany and came to Finland as a result of prospering in the middle class during the 19th century. Furthermore, Zacharias Topelius has a notable influence on Christmas becoming a children’s holiday, to which Christmas songs, presents, and the Christmas tree belonged.

The gifts of burgher families during the first half of the 19th century were mostly handcrafted, fabrics, and sweets. With the trade becoming more active in Turku, people started buying imported products from further away.

— In burgher families, gifts were given that were taxable under the sumptuary tax. These were bought from the merchant ships and included products such as feathers for hats, gloves, jewelry, and china made from porcelain, Hänninen describes.

The 19th century gifts were wrapped in fabric, paper, or put in boxes, and they were sometimes sealed to prevent anyone from sneaking a peek. The gifts were brought by a claus [sic] (more like a goat) with horns, wearing an inside-out fell or fur coat. It was custom to serve the claus something to eat and drink for good luck. With the arriving of the claus, the Christmas traditions shifted from calm and quiet to more lively and loud for the middle class families, Eero Perunka writes in his book Joulupukki – Tuhatvuotinen arvoitus [Santa Claus – A Thousand Year Mystery] (2020).

According to Koivisto, Nyman, and Saloniemi (2009), the tradition of bringing the Christmas tree inside also stems from Germany middle class traditions, and came to Finland during the 19th century. Like many other Christmas traditions, the customs surrounding the Christmas tree first became common among the upper class in Finland, after which it reached the middle class in the cities and the rural educated class. With the folk school and their “spruce fests”, the tradition took hold among the all of the social classes in Finland.

Initially, Christmas trees were simple, but during the latter half of the 19th century, people began decorating the trees with the national flag, silver thread decorations, fabric strips, crêpe paper roses, and apples. In the burgher family’s Christmas tree you could see glass ornaments, whilst a farmer family Christmas tree would have ornaments made of straw and eggshells. The Christmas tree could be seen as a representation of the family’s social strata and prosperity.

In the end, your social class and location affected what your Christmas looked like. The wealthy burgher family’s Christmas in Turku could have looked very different from that of the poorer family’s Christmas in Luostarinmäki. The prosperity could be seen in the Christmas food, presents, decorations, and customs, such as sending Christmas cards in the mail.

Without going into social classes, Christmas in Turku was a long and dark holiday, when people enjoyed tasteful meals, spent time with the family, and went to church.

References:

Koivisto, Kaisa; Nyman, Hannele, & Marjo-Riitta Saloniemi, Joulupuu on rakennettu: suomalaisen joulukuusen tarina (2009)

Perunka, Eero, Joulupukki: Tuhatvuotinen arvoitus (2020)

TEXT: REEA VIITASALO — TRANSLATION: CARL-IVAR BACK — PICTURES: PASI LEINO, ANNEKE SMEDINGA, & ANIA PADZÍK