As you may know we celebrate Christmas in Christam Eve in Finland. The routines of the day go pretty similarly in every family. This Eve was a little different compared to ones we've used to have. 
The morning starts with children's programs in TV. We watch the phone line to Santa Claus where children can call to Santa and maybe sing a song for him.
After that it's time for the traditional rice borridge with hidden almond in it. This year none of us got the almond! On top of the borridge we put little cinemon and sugar.
After the borridge time we've used to go to Christmas sauna but this year we skipped it. I remember only one other time in my life when I haven't been on sauna on Christmas and that was then when we were in Poland on Christmas. It was year 1989. We went to East Germany on that vacation too and get to witness the brake of the Berlin Wall. We got our own pieces. Well, I've already lost it but the memory still holds!
The reason we didn't go to sauna was simple. We didn't have time for it. First our daughters had to go to sing in the declaration of the Christmas peace in city hall. It was a short ceremony were a brass band played, children sang and town manager read the declaration. Right on the moment when children game out and the ceremony started it started to snow. In the morning it was totally black christmas here (and again is) because of the very strange weather of this fall. Even the lakes are still free from the ice. But on the momoent it snowed and look how it snowed! As if God wanted to let us know that I'm here. The snow stopped when the ceremony stopped.
After that we visited home shortly and headed to the church in downtown. There was a family devotional service in there. The string orchestra I lead was performing there. In that orchestra play 13 2-graders who started playing the violin this fall with me. It's been fun! Well, they don't know much of even how to hold the violin so our daughters were there as assistants. It was a very warm service and all the songs we sang and played went well and I got to be involved with music!!! Special blessing to me! There are some of our angels in here:
When we came home Santa had visited our home and left all the gifts under the Christmas tree. That normally happens after Christmas dinner later in the evening but while our routines had been broken we decided to brake them thoroughly. 
Gift opening is always so much fun! We try to keep the amount reasonable and I think this year we even succeeded in it. I got a brand new bible with golden pages and foreign coins. I also enjoyed some jewerly from New Zealand from my cousin. Jonna's favourite was mp3 player, Juha's favourite was a hand made scarf from Peru and Viivi's favourite was a huge teddy bear. Girls also loved the new costumes they got. What the whole family loved was the Twister game. It was just too hard to play with your stomach so full...
After the gifts it was time to eat. Ham, of course, with potato, sweet and carrote cassaroles. Yam!
Thn we had to go out to walk and burn some calories. It was time to head to the cemetary. It was so beautiful there! It was like a candle ocean. We lit two candles on a statue for the loved ones who've been berried somewhere else. There were so many candles there that it was hot close to it!
All in all we had a very memorable Christmas Eve here on our new home town. I felt God's presence very strongly in the Christmas peace declaration, At the church and at the cemetary. I hope all of you got a peace of heaven as a gift this Christmas!
