Browsing by Subject "joulun rituaalit"

Christmas is celebrated as the biggest calendar festival in Finland. With its permanent traditions it is in contrast to the quickly changing society. The Christmas meal is one of the most important symbols of Christmas and the idea of it is based on experiences of past Christmases and the food that has been eaten. The purpose of this study is to find out the position and meaning of Christmas and especially the Christmas meal as part of Finnish identity and tradition. The aim of this study is to understand the reasons that lead to the repetition of the same Christmas traditions every year and the reasons that make the traditions change. From the point of view of household and society, the theme is of interest given that stability and traditions are often in contradiction with the values of modern society which values dynamism and quick change. For this study twelve people were interviewed. (Six over 85-year old and six 18-20-year.) The idea of interviewing representatives of two generations was to get perspective to the social change and on the other hand the stability and meaning of traditions. The interviews were carried out in Helsinki, Naantali and Turku. The recorded material was transcribed and analyzed in two stages. First, material relevant to the research questions was derived from interviews. Second, interviews were coded and categorized using the theoretical frame of reference of the study. The study shows that celebrating Christmas is a way to express ones own individual and national identity. The rituals and symbols of Christmas are mainly learned in childhood and are repeated in current Christmases. Christmas and the Christmas meal is seen as a part of ones community's heritage and as a part of being accepted as a member of the community. The differences in the understanding of the significance of the Christmas meal between two generations were small. The elderly were a little bit more against change in it than the younger interviewees, who saw change as a realistic and positive development. Nevertheless, the young were insecure about making big changes in their Christmas meals, especially if it meant leaving something out from it. Based on the results of this study, Christmas meal traditions are one way for a person to experience continuity and the feeling of security that comes with it.