YuleTide2025

For us YuleTide starts from the 6th of December. Traditionally it lasts longer than a month. Modern society forces us follow the modern rhythm but my body, mind and soul are still in the YuleTide mood. In 2025 we plant 2 baby spruces and hope they will survive over the arctic winter in my garden. These spruces are a gift to our very local nature in my little village where lately people have cut down old spruces.

This year my wish for SantaClaus was "I wish to get nothing because I already have so much". But SantaClaus' little helpers had noticed I kind of freezing in our family bed of big and small people over the holidays because someone always steals my part of the blanket. That's why few nights before Christmas I found on my spot of the family bed this Kronborg of Denmark pack. I must confess despite I wished just nothing, I have been so happy for this spare blanket. Since that I have not woke up in the middle of the night in our family bed to wear another pullover, woollen pants and fur slippers on, when little people have stolen my part of the blanket while the bedroom temperature has fallen to +18 Celsius degree during the night.💝

Again we had the real tree in our library. This year (again) we bought it from a friend whose family sells local Christmas trees in Kemi town center. Traditionally the Christmas tree is for children and it's their duty to decorate it. Adults are not allowed to change any place of a single decoration. Adults put on the star and the lights but everything else is for the children. I know many people would be a bit upset about this, but it is part of our Sámi tradition.

I have saved all the Christmas decoration for my whole adulthood life. That's why I have also Christmas tree decorations suitable for small people use. In that way adults don't need to stress out when the small people fuss around the tree with thrill & joy!

For us YuleTide season is traditionally a season to rest, have peaceful moments with your love ones, share also your wealth with the others. Of course, the nature cycle element and sun - moon - polar nights etc. are there, but also deep in there the fundamental constitutional idea is actually to help also the others to survive over the arctic winter.

In this picture you can see some of the cards received in YuleTide 2025. Greetings and good wishes from family and friends, near and far, warm my heart more that anything else. This year I have reduced the number of shared Christmas cards and have shared the ones only with the ones who remember me back. I still share 40 cards but the number will reduce in 2026 because I see it has come the time to hold tighter on the ones who care you back -in everything.

My children have the annual YudeTide tradition with my parents-in-law to make the gingerbread house. Always before they've done it by themselves from the very begin to the end. This year parents-in-law bought the gingerbread house DIY packs from Lidl to try it out. They made two times at one stand -the 1st and the last. It was so bad that even magpies and cows refused to eat it!!! I really can't recommend it despite I never tasted it because it was not gluten free. I was told, only the sweets very tasty, but you really can buy them also without the gingerbread house kit.

But, it was an adventure and worth of testing. Like the whole year 2025, despite it ended with diseases in the family with small and big people and finally myself too. Also, during the past 1½ I have broken 3, can you image -3!!!- kitchen machinery: 1 freezer, 1 fridge and 1 dish washing machine!!! Why they all get broken at the same time even you didn't buy them at the same time. Well, we very lucky, only the break of the freezer caused us huge damages by spoiling huge pile of our traditional life style food (which our insurance company has refunded us). With the dish washing machine we avoided the water damage only just in the very moment before it happened. I really have been happy with the local POWER Kemi house appliance store. They have a really good service. Remember always be at home when you have your dish washing and laundry washing machines on. You never know what happens and they are connected to the water pipes!

Tomorrow is Heikki's Day and I wish you warm moments. Tomorrow we'll arrive into the middle winter.