The day I have feared for over a month has finally arrived. The final day of the season. This is the day I usually take off the decorations and start the activities of the normal winter season. This will be the case this year as well: not only is it time, but electricity in Finland right now is extremely expensive. No need to keep them up for me.
I know Christmas comes every year, and this is not forever, but still, every year, it feels a bit wistful to clean up the season you love the most.
There are various days to end the season in Finnish culture. Some people take off their decorations already on the New Year; some people use Epiphany that day. There is, however, a third day: January 13th, which is called Nuutinpäivä (the day of Nuutti), when at last it is traditional to clean up the Christmas items and move on to the following season. Nuutinpäivä also includes traditions of kids going from door to door to sing and getting candy as a reward. In my hometown, this was the case, and I remember many times doing this as a child. It is not so common in the city I am living in right now, so there is no need to prepare sweets.
There are many things to wait for, however. The whole winter is full of winter sports, like skiing and skating. I have an idea to try winter swimming again this winter as well; I have just not found a person mad enough to join me! All of these activities are easier to do now that we have a bit more light and also more snow and lower temperatures; that is why I prefer winter to autumn as well.
And January also means that spring is not that far away. Even though I am a person who enjoys winter a lot, I cannot deny the nicety of not needing to dress warm and just spending a lot of time outside in the sun. I love running in the winter, of course, but that will also be easier when the summer comes again.
While we are waiting for that, I will share photos of my week. Enjoy!
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