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JOURNEYS magazine
Volume I, 2016
draw visitors from around the world.
Lapland Safari takes guests on sled-
dog rides and snowmobile journeys
through the surrounding forests as
well as visits to reindeer farms in
the area tended by Sámi herdsmen
dressed in bright red.
During our too brief, week-long
visit to Finland, which also covered
the bustling capital of Helsinki and
the former capital of Turku, near the
southwestern coast facing Sweden,
we saw a Finland that thrives, its
citizens busy and focused. Led by
Nokia, a worldwide leader in cell
phones, Finland ranks as the second
most competitive nation on earth,
following only the U.S.
But for all their industriousness
and business savvy, Finns enjoy
embellishing the mythical past, at
least the happy times of Christmas,
handing down tales of “you better be
good” with emphasis on elves, goblins,
gnomes, fairies, and their legends.
While visiting Turku Castle, parts
of which date back to 1280, we caught
glimpses of a running figure as we
were descending a narrow walled-
in staircase. The castle has dozens
of rooms in its delightfully cheery
interior that are furnished historically,
promoting a happy, lived-in look. More
sightings revealed a small, bent-over,
gray-bearded figure darting in and
out of doorways, until finally we
cornered the Brownie (or Tomte in
Scandinavian) of Turku Castle in his
own tiny windowless room. Shy but
friendly, he posed for photos and
shook our hands, bestowing good
fortune as we continued our tour
of the city.
Later, we strolled and shopped
at an outdoor Christmas market on
the grounds of the old cathedral.
Merchants stood at brightly lit orange
tents, selling every conceivable kind
of Christmas trapping and gifts. In
a corner of the plaza sat Santa,
surrounded by teenage elves singing
holiday carols. Another Santa, very
thin but dressed in red with a gray
beard, limped along supported by
a cane. He carried a notebook
under his arm, would frequently
stop in front of a small child,
alternately smiling and appearing
stern, and jot something down in his
Behavior Book. Adults would grin,
but some children looked on wide-
eyed, petrified that they would get
a bad report.
This was street theater, a slice of
Finnish life that has passed through
the ages, protected and embraced by
perhaps some old-fashioned people
looking for simple pleasures whose
moral lessons last forever.
