The Birth of Father Christmas

By Anne Lampinen

The Birth of Father Christmas is a warm-hearted and humorous story for whole family that tells how the Son of Pole Star became Father Christmas.

Why is Father Christmas Finnish?
Where did he come from?
Why is his suit red and has buttons of gold?
These and other secrets, such as the origins of the first Christmas Gifts from Father Christmas, are revealed in these pages.

Together with his chums, Father Christmas ventures out on his adventures in the wilds of Finnish Lapland. He guides the reader into the mysterious secrets of Finnish folklore whilst enjoying the sweet steam of the sauna bath and dining on delicious traditional Finnish dishes.

With its charming illustrations, the book explains how the Northern Lights and Shooting Stars came about, how Father Christmas revels in the peace and quiet of the fells and is fascinated by the four quite distinct seasons of the year in Finland.

• Language: Suomi
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Oct 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9789523186750

Anne Lampinen

Anne Lampisen aiempia teoksia ovat: Kaunis Veera ja muut ja naislegendat, Kun ihminen kuolee – toimintaopas surussa, Naistenmiehiä Casanovasta Rosvo Roopeen ja Joulupukin synty.

Book preview

Sisällysluettelo

1. Son of the Pole Star

2. The Birth of Father Christmas

3. A Campfire in the Wilds

4. Reindeer Gets a Name

5. The Korvatunturi Lodge

6. Father Christmas and the Sauna

7. Oh! Steam, Sweet Steam!

8. Christmas Porridge and the Almond

9. Father Christmas’s New Suit of Clothes

10. A Midsummer Night’s Proposal

11. Father Christmas and the Hare

12. Father Christmas and the Bear

13. Grand Wedding Plans

14. Lady’s Dress Dilemma

15. Bathing in the Tub and Winter Swimming

16. Father Christmas and Ahti

17. The Night of Father Christmas

18. The Wedding at Korvatunturi

19. A Duty for All Eternity

20. The Northern Lights and Shooting Stars

21. Christmas Gifts

22. A Joy Shared

23. Golden Buttons and Something for the Soot

24. The Eve of Christmas

Finally

Valmistusmerkinnät

1. Son of the Pole Star

One star bright night, a large gallant star zoomed at breakneck speed towards Earth. It dived at an incredible pace towards the valley of
the Korvatunturi fells of Lapland, to the north of the Arctic Circle in Finland. It was a most beautiful setting. It was a frosty, moonlit night, and in the light of the stars the snow glimmered like the sparkle of a thousand diamonds.
All the creatures of Lapland took notice of this rather special phenomenon of nature. Their natural instincts told them to set out in search of the spot where they sensed this strange object from the heavens had come to earth. The animals began to wander out on their trek, each one from its own particular residence in the forest. They arrived from Rovaniemi, from Utsjoki, and even from as far away as Kilpisjärvi, in the far north of the country.

One particular reindeer was scraping his hoof in the snow-covered terrain, in search of lichen. Suddenly, something real strange happened. From the sky a large lump, closely followed by an array of tiny stars, struck the ground with an almighty smash. They sunk into the snow, melting a patch almost an acre in size. The reindeer was spellbound. An enormous stretch of lichen was revealed from beneath the melted snow. He promptly began to feast on this great delicacy and with such gusto that he soon forgot to consider the reason for this unusual upheaval in the nature.

  Whilst gobbling up the lichen, he noticed a strange movement from the corner of his eye. This blackened and charred lump moved and then began to speak in a very friendly fashion.

- I am son of the Pole Star. And who, may I ask, are you, said the creature.

The reindeer was really confused. But after managing to clear his throat of all the lichen, he said that he was just a reindeer. He simply wasn’t known by any other name. And so it was that the son of the Pole Star and the reindeer slapped their paws together, as custom would have it. And a new friendship was struck.

2. The Birth of Father Christmas

After a short while, the son of the Pole Star and Reindeer noticed a figure approaching. It appeared to walk with light and confident steps through the great snowdrifts, even though the figure wasn’t so slender at all. Only the outline of the approaching creature could be seen against the blue backdrop of the landscape. The pitch-black darkness of the polar night was really at its most beautiful, for it was the 24th day of December; the eve of Christmas, as