Joulu

It's never too early to think about Christmas cards! Just make sure that you write them correctly, and unlike so many Finns and card companies, do NOT capitalize every single word in your greeting, like this: Hyvää Joulua Ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta. It's just wrong no matter how pretty and artistic it might look like.

Are you familiar with this old poem about the Finnish minuscules?

Viikonpäivät, kaikki kuut, 

joulu ynnä juhlat muut

pienellä ne kirjoitamme

virkkeen keskellä jos on ne.

= The days of the week, all the months / Christmas and other festivities / we spell them with a small letter / if they are in the middle of a sentence. (Same goes for nationalities and languages.)  If you want to know more about this topic, check out the Institute for the Languages of Finland and Kielitohtori.

Here are the most typical Christmas greeting phrases and their literal translations:

• Hauskaa joulua - Merry Christmas
• Iloista joulua - Joyous Christmas
• Hyvää joulua - Good Christmas
• Rauhallista joulua - Peaceful Christmas
• ja onnellista uutta vuotta - and a Happy New Year

Feel free to mix and be creative! You can leave your greeting to the comment box and I'll add it to the list.

P.S. Here are some interesting sites for alternative Christmas presents:

• Toisenlainen lahja
• Parempi lahja
• World Vision
• Punainen Risti