The Magical Christmas Quintet!

From a traditional white Christmas in Finland to an Aussie one where having a beach barbeque is the norm and a whole lot more exotic experiences in between, Raul Dias celebrates the diversity in Yuletide festivities from five unique parts of the world. 

By Raul Dias 

Celebrating with Santa
Rovaniemi in Finland
There is probably no other place in the world than Rovaniemi, Finland to spend the ultimate Christmas Day of your life. For it is this snow-blanketed, tiny town, neatly tucked away in the far north of the country’s Lapland that is considered the ‘Official Hometown of Santa Claus’. A month before Christmas, the festivities are put into full throttle here as Santa Claus declares the Christmas season open in Santa Claus Village. Another highlight of the year is December 23rd, when Santa departs on his mission to hand out presents to children all around the globe. And not to forget good old Rudolf, for Rovaniemi is also home to countless reindeer that one can interact with and even go on a sledge ride with. For those travelling with children, SantaPark is a must visit. It is at this underground toy factory where Santa’s elves create all the presents for children around the world. It’s a wonderful place for children to explore and a fantastic place to get in the spirit of Christmas in Lapland.

Tacos, Tamales, Tequila, anyone?
Mexico City in Mexico
It is in mid-November each year, when the Christmas festivities are kickstarted in bustling, colourful Mexico City. This takes place with the lighting of the Christmas tree in the Liverpool Insurgentes mega store on the third Saturday in November. It is THE most visited store during Yuletide season by Mexican families, for its Christmas village is one of the most spectacular and entertaining of the city. Besides the impressive Christmas tree, it features an ice slide and activities for children to write their letters to the Three Wise Men. From then on, families begin to prepare for the holidays where plenty of food, fun and colour define the fiesta. Think copious amounts of traditional Christmas delicacies like a large fritter known as a buñuelo, ponche navideño (a Christmas fruit punch) along with the usual Mexican cuisine staples of tacos and tamales stuffed with turkey—all washed down with some tequila. Christmas markets like the one organised in the Coyoacan Market or the Grand Christmas Bazaar in the Lázaro Cardenas Market are also wonderful places to get the festive vibe going. Another magical place in Mexico City during Christmas is the Zocalo square in the heart of the city where a giant ice rink is set up for people to skate and make merry.

Christmas in January
Lalibela in Ethiopia
Probably the most unique Christmas celebrations, and not just on this list, but in the world, Lalibela in Ethiopia does its version of the festivities very, very differently. For starters, Ethiopia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, not December 25th. Called Ganna, Christmas here is preceded by a special Advent fast for 43 days before Christmas. It starts on 25th November and is known as the ‘Fast of the Prophets’ or Tsome Nebiyat. During this time, traditionally only one vegan meal is eaten each day. On the day of Ganna, people get dressed in white, wearing a traditional shawl-like garment called a netela. It is a thin white cotton piece of cloth with brightly coloured stripes across the ends. People go to mass on Christmas Eve (called the Gahad of Christmas) at 6.00 pm and the service finishes about 3.00 am on Christmas Day, making it one of the longest and yes, most fascinating Christmas services! This is followed by a traditional Christmas feast that includes a thick stew called wat which can be made with meat, vegetables and eggs. The stew is eaten with roll of injera which is a flat fermented bread made from an indigenous Ethiopian grain called teff.

Joyeaux Noël
Montreal in Canada
Infused with a deliciously French flavour, given the city’s deep French conection, Christmas in Montreal is celebrated very differently than it is in other parts of Canada. Simply called ‘Noël’, it begins with the Défilé du Père Noël, aka the Montreal Santa Claus Parade that has been a tradition since 1925 with about 15 to 20 floats proceeding along the downtown artery and top shopping destination, Ste. Catherine Street, from Fort to St. Urbain. Another beautiful way that Christmas is celebrated here is with the Montreal Christmas Parade (Marche de Noël aux flambeaux) where one can join in the candlelight procession with over 10,000 other people to celebrate the season along with Christmas carolers who walk along the route from the city’s L’Avenue du Mont-Royal. As for those all-important Yuletide treats, you can indulge in an array of goodies like the ‘Bûche de Noël’ Yule log, pork pies called tourtières and yummy gruyère gougères, bursting with the goodness of cheese.

Beaches, BBQs and Bikinis
Sydney in Australia
Surprising as it may sound, but some of the best Christmas Day feasts in Sydney involve going to the city’s many beaches, donning bikinis, board shorts, thongs (as flip-flops are called in Australia) and indulging in a grand barbeque feast with family and friends, where plenty of grilled turkey, burgers and ice-cold beer take center stage. Iconic beaches like Bondi, Tamarama and Manly are the most popular ones to hang out at and enjoy the blazing Christmas summer sun while working on that festive tan. But this is not to say that some of the more typical trappings of a ‘traditional’ Christmas are totally ignored by our friends down under. In fact, the Yuletide festivities are kicked off on the last Saturday of November when Santa Claus and Sydney’s Lord Mayor light the giant Christmas Tree at a family concert in Martin Place. Another popular thing to do during the season is to check out the beautifully decorated Christmas window display dioramas at the David Jones store opposite St James Station, which each year tell a different Yuletide story.

(A shorter, edited version of this article first appeared in the Oct-Nov-Dec 2019 issue of HDFC Imperia magazine)

Hail, Holy Helsinki!

From grand cathedrals to ‘alien’ chapels and churches hewn from rocks, Helsinki has an interesting selection of unique places of worship. Raul Dias recently discovered this facet on a short layover in the capital of Finland.  

By Raul Dias


Do pardon the triple ‘H’ alliteration in the header of this travel piece. It’s not just that I have a great affection for that particular figure of speech. But in this case, it is very much deserved and thus, warranted. “Hail, Holy Helsinki!” was also the exact same phrase that I uttered when I got back to my cruise ship cabin after spending precisely eight hours in Helsinki, when the ship docked at the Finnish capital’s port for a day, halfway through its nine-day Baltic Sea itinerary.
Now, for a city of modest proportions such as Helsinki, that one can easily cover on foot in less than two hours, it sure has an interesting cache of—here goes another alliteration—churches, chapels and cathedrals.
Here are four of the most unique and awe-inspiring ones:

The Helsinki Cathedral
This neoclassical Lutheran cathedral is one of the most iconic buildings of Helsinki and cannot be missed as it occupies prime position in the center of town. In fact, it was the first thing I saw of Helsinki from my ship cabin’s balcony as we docked. The imposing building dominates the city’s main Senate Square with its grand pillars, blue domes dotted with golden stars and statues of the twelve apostles along the roof that seem to lay guard over the city. Interestingly, the interiors of the cathedral are rather spartan and plain when compared to the elegant exterior. However, the cathedral does hold an atmospheric crypt with a small chapel which is worth exploring if you have the time. A city landmark of sorts, the flight of stairs leading to the cathedral is where locals set up meeting spots. But the stairs is also a great place to sit down and marvel at the other neoclassical buildings encircling the square, all of which were designed by Carl Ludvig Engel.

Uspenski Cathedral 
A spectacular red-brick building, the Uspenski Cathedral can be seen from a distance and forms a stunning part of Helsinki’s skyline. Set on top of a hill on Katajanokka island, you also get panoramic views of the city from outside the cathedral. As the largest Orthodox Church in Western Europe, the Uspenski Cathedral shows Russia’s influence on Finland as the country was part of the former USSR. Built in the Russian-Byzatine style, the green and gold onion-shaped domes resemble many of those found on churches in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Orthodox style continues on the inside with an array of impressive chandeliers. The cathedral is also home to a number of religious icons that shine in all their gilded splendour.

Kamppi Chapel
Slap bang in the middle of Helsinki’s rather quiet downtown area, it’s very hard to miss the sight of the intriguing Kamppi Chapel. Also known as the ‘Chapel of Silence’, it has been described as resembling everything from a bow of a wooden ship to an alien egg, if you please! Whatever it reminds you of, it cannot be argued that it is brilliantly designed. In classic Finnish style, it is an ultra-modern and innovative design whilst also being simple and stylish. As the newest of the lot, it was dreamt up by the architects at KS2 and opened in 2012. It is also very different from the rest featured in this article, in that, no religious events, such as baptisms or weddings, take place here. Rather, it is used as a quiet haven and escape for people to retreat from the noise of the city, for a moment of peace and calm.

Temppeliaukio Rock Church
I’ve truly saved my favourite of the four for the last. The final iconic church on my list is the Temppeliaukio Church or the Church of the Rock, or just Rock Church, which is also the most exotic of the quartet. Located in the heart of the city, it is carved entirely out of solid granite rock and is a beautiful sight to behold. Exuding a definite pre-historic, Flintstones-eque vibe, the church was planned by two Finnish architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Natural light streams into the church through the skylight that surrounds the 22-diameter copper dome roof. The raw rock walls create excellent acoustics and the church is regularly used for concerts.

(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 26th May 2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/hail-holy-helsinki/1533719)