Porvoon museoyhdistys ry, Porvoon Museo

Something familiar and something unfamiliar – Christmas in Porvoo Museum takes visitors to the 1700s

23.9.2024 09:59:27 EEST | Porvoon museoyhdistys ry, Porvoon Museo | Press release

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In Porvoo Museum’s Holm House presents the Christmas preparations and festivities of an 18th century burgher family. As most of the usual Finnish Christmas traditions originate in the 19th century, familiar elements – such as a Christmas tree – are conspicuous by their absene in the home of a wealthy merchant of the 1700s.

Ham is a familiar sight in Finnish Christmas feasts, but a porcelain “conversation starter” figure probably less so.
Ham is a familiar sight in Finnish Christmas feasts, but a porcelain “conversation starter” figure probably less so. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum

The center piece of the season in the 1700s is the dinner table. Ham, root vegetable casseroles and rosolli salad are still a part of Finnish Christmas feasts, but spinach stew and savoury jellies made with meat perhaps less so.

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The Christmas dinner was eaten with the family and the table was absolutely laden with delicacies. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
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Carrot casserole, the last apples of the fall, and bread rolls hidden under the folded napkins were for special occasions. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
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Dried fruit rolled in sugar were like candy in the 1700s. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
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White wax candles were festive, because they didn’t smoke as much as the cheaper, commonly used tallow candles. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
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Off to the side of the room a liquor table was set, where people could get drinks or snacks before dinner if needed. These appetizers were eaten while standing up or seated with the plate on the lap. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
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The liquor table set with bread and butter, pretzels, herring and sausages served in particular guests who had arrived from further away. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum

And even though the tradition of giving each other presents at Christmas began already in the 18th century, recognising old customs related to it can be difficult for modern people used to the factory-made products of 20th and 21st centuries. In the 1700s and 1800s short rhyming verses were written on Christmas presents to hint at the content of the gift and its giver. The presents weren’t brought by Santa Claus; instead someone simply threw them suddenly in through the door.

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The rhyming verses written on the gifts were almost more important than the contents. Sometimes the contents of the gift were “borrowed” from the receiver during the year and at Christmas it was returned to its rightful owner. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum

Christmas is the biggest holiday of the Christian church and Porvoo’s medieval cathedral has been a central part of Christmas for the people of Porvoo through the centuries. Helping the less fortunate is also a long-lived Christmas tradition and for example in the 18th and 19th centuries bread and candles were gifted to the poor.

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Christmas preparations began weeks earlier with tasks such as candlemaking. Slightly coarser flour is used to make bread for the poor, which was given, for example, to fire wardens and clock ringers, but also to beggars who knocked on the door. Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum

In addition to the upstairs Christmas exhibition, the downstairs of Holm House has an exhibition about birds in winter.

Christmas in Porvoo Museum

  • 27.11.2024 at 10:00. Press preview. Representatives of the media, bloggers and social media influencers are welcome to come see the Christmas exhibitions in Holm House, Välikatu 11, Porvoo.
  • 27.11.2024–12.1.2025. Christmas in Porvoo Museum in Holm House, Välikatu 11, Porvoo. Open Wed–Sun at 12–16.
  • 27.11.2024–2.3.2025. The Blue Hour – An Exhibition about the Birds of Winter, Välikatu 11, Porvoo. Open Wed–Sun at 12–16.
  • 1.–24.12.2024 Porvoo Museum Christmas calendar on Instagram and Facebook @porvoonmuseo
  • Inquiries about guided tours: info@porvoonmuseo.fi

Images

Ham is a familiar sight in Finnish Christmas feasts, but a porcelain “conversation starter” figure probably less so.
Ham is a familiar sight in Finnish Christmas feasts, but a porcelain “conversation starter” figure probably less so.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
The Christmas dinner was eaten with the family and the table was absolutely laden with delicacies.
The Christmas dinner was eaten with the family and the table was absolutely laden with delicacies.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
Carrot casserole, the last apples of the fall, and bread rolls hidden under the folded napkins were for special occasions.
Carrot casserole, the last apples of the fall, and bread rolls hidden under the folded napkins were for special occasions.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
Dried fruit rolled in sugar were like candy in the 1700s.
Dried fruit rolled in sugar were like candy in the 1700s.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
White wax candles were festive, because they didn’t smoke as much as the cheaper, commonly used tallow candles.
White wax candles were festive, because they didn’t smoke as much as the cheaper, commonly used tallow candles.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
Off to the side of the room a liquor table was set, where people could get drinks or snacks before dinner if needed. These appetizers were eaten while standing up or seated with the plate on the lap.
Off to the side of the room a liquor table was set, where people could get drinks or snacks before dinner if needed. These appetizers were eaten while standing up or seated with the plate on the lap.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
The liquor table set with bread and butter, pretzels, herring and sausages served in particular guests who had arrived from further away.
The liquor table set with bread and butter, pretzels, herring and sausages served in particular guests who had arrived from further away.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
The rhyming verses written on the gifts were almost more important than the contents. Sometimes the contents of the gift were “borrowed” from the receiver during the year and at Christmas it was returned to its rightful owner.
The rhyming verses written on the gifts were almost more important than the contents. Sometimes the contents of the gift were “borrowed” from the receiver during the year and at Christmas it was returned to its rightful owner.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download
Christmas preparations began weeks earlier with tasks such as candlemaking. Slightly coarser flour is used to make bread for the poor, which was given, for example, to fire wardens and clock ringers, but also to beggars who knocked on the door.
Christmas preparations began weeks earlier with tasks such as candlemaking. Slightly coarser flour is used to make bread for the poor, which was given, for example, to fire wardens and clock ringers, but also to beggars who knocked on the door.
Jari Laurén Porvoo Museum
Download

Porvoo Museum

Porvoo Museum is one of the oldest museums in Finland. Founded in 1896 the museum has been maintained by the association Borgå museiförening from the beginning. The museum fosters, maintains, researches, and conveys material and immaterial cultural and natural heritage of Porvoo and Eastern Uusimaa.

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