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[[File:Pukki ja muori.jpg|thumb|right|Joulupukki and his wife.]]
[[File:Pukki ja muori.jpg|thumb|right|Joulupukki and his wife.]]
'''Joulupukki''' is a [[Culture of Finland|Finnish]] [[Christmas]] figure. The term ''joulupukki'' literally means "Christmas goat" or "[[Yule goat]]" in Finnish; the word ''pukki'' comes from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] root ''bock'', which is a [[cognate]] of the English "[[wikt:buck#Noun|buck]]", and means "billy-goat". An old Scandinavian custom, the figure is now often conflated with [[Santa Claus]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nordland|first1=Rod|title=Santa in Finland, Where Marketing Triumphs Over Geography|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/world/europe/finland-lapland-santa.html|access-date=16 January 2018|agency=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>
'''Joulupukki''', also known as '''Joulutaatta''' ("''Old Man Christmas''"), is a [[Culture of Finland|Finnish]] [[Christmas]] figure. The term ''joulupukki'' literally means "Christmas buck" or "Yule buck" in Finnish; the word ''pukki'' comes from the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] root ''bock'', which is a [[cognate]] of the English "[[wikt:buck#Noun|buck]]", and means "billy-goat". An old Scandinavian custom, the figure is now often conflated with [[Santa Claus]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Nordland|first1=Rod|title=Santa in Finland, Where Marketing Triumphs Over Geography|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/world/europe/finland-lapland-santa.html|access-date=16 January 2018|agency=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>


==Origins and description==
==Origins and description==
The ''Joulupukki'' was originally a pagan tradition. Today, in some parts of Finland, the custom persists of persons performing in goat costume in return for leftover Christmas food. The performer traditionally is an older man, who is called a "''{{interlanguage link|nuuttipukki|fi}}''".<ref>{{cite news |title=Nuutipukit käyvät kohta matkaan |date=28 December 2010 |website=Lautta Kylä |url=https://www.lauttakyla.fi/uutinen/122810/nuutipukit-k%c3%a4yv%c3%a4t-kohta-matkaan |lang=fi |access-date=21 December 2019 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407204241/https://www.lauttakyla.fi/uutinen/122810/nuutipukit-k%C3%A4yv%C3%A4t-kohta-matkaan |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The ''Joulupukki'' was originally a pagan tradition. Today, in some parts of Finland, the custom persists of persons performing in goat costume in return for leftover Christmas food. The performer traditionally is an older man, who is called a "''{{interlanguage link|nuuttipukki|fi}}''".<ref>{{cite news |title=Nuutipukit käyvät kohta matkaan |date=28 December 2010 |website=Lautta Kylä |url=https://www.lauttakyla.fi/uutinen/122810/nuutipukit-k%c3%a4yv%c3%a4t-kohta-matkaan |lang=fi |access-date=21 December 2019 |archive-date=7 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407204241/https://www.lauttakyla.fi/uutinen/122810/nuutipukit-k%C3%A4yv%C3%A4t-kohta-matkaan |url-status=dead }}</ref>


He usually wears warm red robes, but with a broad band of blue near the fur, uses a walking stick, and travels in a [[sleigh]] pulled by a number of [[reindeer]] (which do not fly, unlike Santa Claus' team).{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} In [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]], he rides in a ''[[pulkka]]'', rather than a sleigh. The popular holiday song "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]", in its Finnish translation, ''[[Petteri Punakuono]]'', has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in Finland as Joulupukki's lead reindeer. Joulupukki is often mentioned as having a wife, Joulumuori ("''Old Lady Christmas''"), but tradition says little of her.
He usually wears warm red robes, but with a broad band of blue near the fur, uses a walking stick, and travels in a [[sleigh]] pulled by a number of [[reindeer]] (which do not fly, unlike Santa Claus' team).{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} In [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]], he rides in a ''[[pulkka]]'', rather than a sleigh. The popular holiday song "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]", in its Finnish translation, ''[[Petteri Punakuono]]'', has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in Finland as Joulupukki's lead reindeer. Joulupukki is often mentioned as having a wife called [[Joulumuori]] ("''Old Lady Christmas''"), but tradition says little of her.


==Joulupukki's other side==
==Joulupukki's other side==

Revision as of 23:03, 9 September 2023

Joulupukki and his wife.

Joulupukki, also known as Joulutaatta ("Old Man Christmas"), is a Finnish Christmas figure. The term joulupukki literally means "Christmas buck" or "Yule buck" in Finnish; the word pukki comes from the Germanic root bock, which is a cognate of the English "buck", and means "billy-goat". An old Scandinavian custom, the figure is now often conflated with Santa Claus.[1]

Origins and description

The Joulupukki was originally a pagan tradition. Today, in some parts of Finland, the custom persists of persons performing in goat costume in return for leftover Christmas food. The performer traditionally is an older man, who is called a "nuuttipukki [fi]".[2]

He usually wears warm red robes, but with a broad band of blue near the fur, uses a walking stick, and travels in a sleigh pulled by a number of reindeer (which do not fly, unlike Santa Claus' team).[citation needed] In Lapland, he rides in a pulkka, rather than a sleigh. The popular holiday song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", in its Finnish translation, Petteri Punakuono, has led to Rudolph's general acceptance in Finland as Joulupukki's lead reindeer. Joulupukki is often mentioned as having a wife called Joulumuori ("Old Lady Christmas"), but tradition says little of her.

Joulupukki's other side

Pagans used to have festivities to honour the return of the sun and some believe Joulupukki is the earliest form of present-day Santa. The Yule Goat was thought by some to be an ugly creature and frightened children while others believe it was an invisible creature that helped prepare for Yule.

Popular radio programs from the year 1927 onwards probably had great influence in reformatting the concept with the Santa-like costume, reindeer and Korvatunturi as his dwelling place. Because there really are reindeer in Finland, and Finns live up North, the popular American story took root in Finland very quickly.

Finland's Joulupukki receives over 500,000 letters from over 200 countries every year. Most letters come from Poland, Italy, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau .[3]

Joulupukki is a prominent character in Rare Exports, a movie based on the award-winning shorts by Jalmari Helander.

See also

References

  1. ^ Nordland, Rod (December 20, 2017). "Santa in Finland, Where Marketing Triumphs Over Geography". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Nuutipukit käyvät kohta matkaan". Lautta Kylä (in Finnish). 28 December 2010. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Joulupukki saa mykistävät määrät postia - Suomesta tulee vasta viidenneksi eniten kirjeitä". www.iltalehti.fi.
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