Something Old, Something Borrowed, Something New: Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa Clause

 

Figure 1: A man dressed as the Finnish version of Santa Clause, the Joulupukki (Source: BBC)

If you peruse the blog you may happen upon a post about St. Nicholas, which details the German traditions and celebrations associated with this holiday.  Many readers have associated this individual with the modern conceptions of Santa Clause, but this is just one of the many traditions and customs that has contributed to our modern understanding of Santa Clause, which is derived from various European cultures.  This cultural sharing has not been one way, though.  These modern conceptions of American/Western Santa Clause have also influenced European cultural traditions, including leading to the creation of a new tradition: Joulupukki (Figure 1).  Today’s blog post will discuss what the Joulupukki is, how it came to be, and how its creation has influenced and changed Finnish culture.

 

Joulupukki is Finnish, and it literally translate to “Yule Goat”.  Joulupukki represents a modern Finnish version of Santa Clause in that it is a man who dresses in flowing red robes, rides a sleigh driven by reindeer.  He exists in a remote area of Finland known as Korvatunturi, which translates into “Ear Fell”. This is a region of Finland where only Joulupukki can hear everything, thereby knowing which children have been naughty and which have been nice.  At Christmas time he goes door to door ringing his loud bell, asking to be invited into the home to provide gifts to those children who made the nice list. 

 

The belief in Joulupukki is so strong that Finns claim that they were the ones who invented the modern Santa Clause.  This idea does have some credence since the popular icon of Santa Clause was created by Finnish American artist Haddon Sundblom in the 1930s.  Unfortunately for Finns Santa Clause actual predates the conception of the Joulupukki, and the Joulupukki was actually the Finns answer to conflicting cultural traditions and beliefs. 

 

The Joulupukki was created out of a need to rectify and rationalize competing pagan and Christian beliefs.  Prior to the adoption and conversion to Christianity Finns, along with many across Europe, celebrated Yule or various other Midwinter rituals and celebrations.  For Finns a goat predominated the season.  It is unclear why it was a goat, but it is believed to be tied to the pagan god Thor, who rode a chariot driven by goats.  Goats remain an important icon of the holiday season as large wicker goats act as holiday décor.  This may also be how and why Joulupukki, which means “Yule Goat,” got its name.

 

Figure 2: Man dressed as the nuuttipukki (Source: Harris 1)

 

The specific pagan holiday that is most closely associated with being the origination point for the Joulupukki was celebrated on January 13, and it still is as part of St. Knut’s Day.  Traditionally, young men would don goat like costumes wherein they would wear furs, leather, deer antlers, and straw/hay, thereby taking on the role of nuuttipukki (Figure 2).  They would then go door to door demanding left over food and drink from the previous mid-winter or Yule celebrations.  Those patrons who would not given in to these demands risked having all sorts of misfortunes happening to them, including but not limited to disgruntled animals, harassment of the household, and/or loss of crops or food.  This misfortune is actually believed to be tied to the mischievous nature of the roaming bands of young men playing the role of nuuttipukki.  They would demand alcoholic beverages above all else, and as the night went on they would get drunker, and if their demands for food and drink were not met the likelihood of them acting out increased.  More often than not households would hand over any available food and drink to avoid the havoc the nuuttipukki would cause otherwise. 

 

Today the nuuttipukki tradition continues to be celebrated on St. Knut’s Day, albeit in a far altered and tamer way.  Young children now don less scary nuuttipukki costumes and they go door to door asking for sweet treats.  The holiday is far more similar to Halloween than what it originally represented, but it continues to be celebrated as a means of closing out the holiday season and paying homage to Finnish pagan roots, which continue to influence their culture traditions and beliefs.

 

Works Cited

Harris, Kathleen. "How Joulupukki, the Finnish Santa, went from naughty to nice." 22 December 2015. Ink Tank. Electronic. 14 November 2023.

No Author. "St Knut’s Day in Finland: the Nuuttipukki." 20 January 2023. All Things Nordic. Electronic. 14 November 2023.

Sirén, Ilkka. "Does Santa Claus come from Finland?" BBC 23 December 2017. Electronic.