Peace and Goodwill
“In Finland, there is a 700-year tradition to read a declaration of peace during the Christmas season, which will be aired on TV. For us, the spirit of Christmas is the spirit of peace,” HE Jari Sinkari, the Ambassador of Finland to Indonesia, told Indonesia Tatler at his residence.
In his country, Christmas has a long history and tradition, and is deeply rooted within the local culture as it was originally the winter solstice festival before it became Christmas. People have since learned about the meaning and traditions of Christmas from early childhood and, most importantly, everyone believes that Father Christmas originally comes from Finland. “We all still believe in Santa Clause, or as we call him, Joulupukki; we want to keep the magic alive,” His Excellency said as he smiled.
In the town of Rovaniemi, which is located in the northern part of Finland, Santa Claus’s official post office is located. Children from around Finland and even from around the world write letters to Santa and send them to the address. “It is also a very popular spot for tourists,” HE Jari told us. But for His Excellency, this Christmas will be his first in Indonesia. That said, it will not be his first Christmas away from home for him, as he celebrated Christmas in Thailand five years ago. “It’s not going to be my first tropical Christmas,” he said with a laugh.
Upon being asked whether he’s going to miss the snow and celebrating Christmas back in his home country, he answered: “Of course. Usually, my mother would cook traditional Christmas dishes for the whole family, like ham, rutabaga casserole, fish, and Christmas sweets and pastries like piparkakku and joulutorttu. I would also spend time with my sisters’ families, of whom I’m very fond.” Finally, at the end of our conversation, HE Jari said: “In Finland, we believe that Christmas is found inside of you. It really doesn’t matter where you are as long as you have the spirit of Christmas within you.”