In December Jyväskylä comes alive in a whole new way as a host of festive events takes over the city. Christmas lights switch on across different neighbourhoods, and local producers, artists and craftspeople gather to sell treats and handmade gifts for the Christmas table and for wrapping under the tree.
Traditions belong to Christmas, and many of Jyväskylä’s December events return year after year. What would the run-up to the holidays be without the Christmas Light Land, festive lunches, Tonttulakki Day, Christmas carol singalongs or the museums’ Christmas fairs?
If you haven’t yet built your own December traditions, here are 20 brilliant options to help you start some new ones.
What else is there to do in Jyväskylä? Check out Time Out’s tips:
Christmas Light Land is an installation built in Kirkkopuisto in the city centre, with its lights switched on at the end of November during Jyväskylä’s Christmas opening. Giant illuminated baubles and glowing reindeer brighten up the darkest time of the year, delighting locals right through to Epiphany.
Address: Kirkkopuisto
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? Until 6 January
The Old Courtyard of Toivola is a charming nineteenth-century cluster of buildings with small boutiques, museums and a café. In December the courtyard dresses up for Christmas. The storehouses host a Christmas Shop filled with local treats and handicrafts. The Kota café serves hot drinks, Santa’s workshop offers crafts, and the courtyard welcomes visiting sheep, horses, alpacas and dogs. Different choirs also perform Christmas carols. It’s pure festive magic.
Address: Cygnaeuksenkatu 2
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? Until 23 December
Many restaurants in Jyväskylä serve Christmas-themed lunches, but if you’re after something special, head for Pöllöwaari. This fine-dining restaurant, part of the Hotel Yöpuu complex, is a favourite choice for locals celebrating something meaningful. The Christmas lunch features its much-loved Scandinavian cold starter buffet, packed with different fish, meats and salads. The main course is served at the table with meat, fish and vegetarian options. There are four seating times and booking is recommended.
Address: Yliopistonkatu 23
Expect to pay: €64
When? Until 22 December on weekdays 11.00–15.00
The annual dance fairytale by the Jyväskylä Dance Institute is part of many locals’ Christmas traditions, and this year’s journey takes audiences to Narnia. Based on C.S. Lewis’s fantasy classic, the performance features dancers aged 10–20, with ballet, hip hop, contemporary and jazz all represented. The show takes place in the Blomstedt Hall at Villa Rana Cultural Centre.
Address: Seminaarinkatu 13
Expect to pay: €18/€16
When? Performances 4–13 December
The basement of the Ilokivi student house hosts all kinds of cultural events, from gigs and theatre to film screenings. On the eve of Independence Day, Ilokivi welcomes a Christmas stand-up show featuring five comedians: Laura Haimila, Pyry Valtonen, Samu Voutilainen, Salla Avelin and Toni Myyryläinen.
Address: Keskussairaalantie 2
Expect to pay: Tickets €22/€28
When? 5 December at 19.00
The Christmas market held around the Old Station in Suolahti on Independence Day is a chance to soak up a cosy small-village festive atmosphere. Organised by local businesses and associations, the event features different market stalls, music and activities for the whole family. The atmospheric Café Möljä inside the old station serves seasonal treats.
Address: Asematori, Suolahti
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 6 December 12.00–16.00
Jyväskylä’s Independence Day traditions include a torchlit procession organised by first-year students of the teacher training department. It departs from Seminaarinmäki and heads towards the Old Cemetery. Anyone can join by bringing along their student cap. The procession ends with a ceremony at the heroes’ graves, featuring speeches, a choir performance and the laying of a wreath. If you’d prefer to admire the torches from the sidelines, the procession passes along Kauppakatu and Puistokatu.
Address: Departure in front of the university main building, Seminaarinkatu 15
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 6 December at 18.00
Tupaswilla, a heritage village in Laukaa, is home to what’s said to be the world’s largest smoke sauna. The venue hosts many events, and in December it’s time for the Old-Time Christmas Market. Local producers and craftspeople arrive to sell festive treats and handmade goods, from traditional straw himmeli decorations and lanterns to candles, socks and mittens. Santa and an elf trail are also part of the event.
Address: Ränssintie 5, Laukaa
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 7 December 10.00–17.00
For many, Christmas isn’t Christmas without singing along to beloved carols. In Jyväskylä you can join in with a symphony orchestra at the beautiful Taulumäki Church. This hour-long event features both classic and newer Christmas songs accompanied by the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ilkka Aunu.
Address: Lohikoskentie 2
Expect to pay: €10
When? 12 December at 18.00 and 20.00
Kangas is a new neighbourhood near the city centre, built around an old paper mill. It’s known for its distinctive architecture, urban art, circular-economy-minded community initiatives and cultural events. Kangas Christmas is an open, family-friendly event with a Christmas market, café, LED juggling show, elves’ obstacle course and a crafting spot for Christmas tree decorations.
Address: Kankaanaukio
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 12 December 15.00–19.00
Tonttulakki Day has become a cherished feel-good Christmas tradition organised by Linkki, the Jyväskylä region’s public transport service. This year it takes place on 13 December, when you really can travel for free on local buses simply by wearing a Santa hat. The hat acts as your ticket across all Linkki-area municipalities: Jyväskylä, Laukaa, Muurame, Äänekoski, Hankasalmi, Toivakka and Petäjävesi. Expect busy buses and the possibility that a full one might pass you by. So dress warmly.
Address: All Linkki-area municipalities
Expect to pay: Free
When? 13 December
Aalto2 Museum Centre brings together the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland. With a museum ticket you can join a lantern workshop, a Christmas card workshop and a guided light-themed tour of the exhibition ‘In Search of Central Finland’. The Christmas event also includes Central Finland’s most beautiful Christmas carols, sung together under the lead of Laura Kaartinen. The auditorium shows a film presentation of Christmas traditions from bygone times.
Address: Alvar Aallon katu 7
Expect to pay: Adult ticket €18
When? 13 December 13.00–18.00
The Christmas Art Bazaar at the Jyväskylä Art Museum brings together a curated selection of works by Central Finnish visual artists, craftspeople, writers and musicians. The market fills the museum’s exhibition halls, where the international Graphica Creativa printmaking triennial is on show at the same time. The museum also presents its traditional Christmas window, on display until Epiphany. This year it is created by visual artist Jonna Suurhasko and themed around classic fairytales.
Address: Kauppakatu 23
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 13–14 December 11.00–18.00
Running annually alongside the art museum’s bazaar, the Craftspeople’s Christmas Market takes place in the neighbouring block at the Museum of Finnish Craft. Twenty-six craftspeople from across Finland have been selected to sell their handmade items, from textiles and kitchenware to jewellery, ceramics and accessories. This year features an unusually large number of local makers. In addition, the museum’s Window Gallery hosts the ‘Museum’s Little Christmas Shop’ exhibition throughout December, showcasing products by seven Finnish craftspeople.
Address: Kauppakatu 25
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 13–14 December 11.00–18.00
Jyväskylä City Theatre’s Christmas concert, ‘Tarinoiden joulu’, brings together memories, stories and interpretations of both familiar and lesser-known Christmas songs. Performers include singers from different departments of the theatre and a band formed by music students from Gradia vocational school. Vocal arrangements and ensemble direction are by Sami Ulmanen, with band arrangements and the band led by conductor Lasse Hirvi.
Address: Lutakonaukio 12
Expect to pay: Standard ticket €25
When? 17, 18 and 19 December at 19.00
Niittyaho Farm in Muurame hosts a variety of popular events, mainly in summer. The cosy café is located in the barn loft, and in the courtyard visitors can meet farm animals such as sheep and chickens. For several years the farm has also hosted a country-style Christmas market in December, welcoming local producers, bakers and craftspeople. The café serves porridge, mulled wine and other treats, and Santa will be there too.
Address: Niittuahontie 60, Muurame
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 20 December 12.00–15.00
Haikusauna, located at Kivitasku Farm in Muurame, is a large log sauna that blends features of a smoke sauna and a one-heating sauna. Most of the smoke exits through a flue, but the traditional smoke sauna scent remains. In winter Haikusauna is open to all on the first Saturday of each month. In December there’s an additional Christmas sauna with two sessions. The farm’s Villa café and shop are open, and before your sauna you can join a workshop to make your own sauna hat.
Address: Kivitaskuntie 48, Muurame
Expect to pay: €18
When? 20 December 17.00–21.00
On the weekend before Christmas you can browse for gifts and treats at the Villa Rana Cultural Centre Christmas market. Stalls offer handmade crafts and art including prints, cards, jewellery and poetry collections. You can also buy vegan Christmas casseroles and other festive treats from Restaurant Villa Rana.
Address: Seminaarinkatu 13
Expect to pay: Free entry
When? 20 December 12.00–15.00
The Christmas-themed guided walk at the Old Cemetery was held for the first time last year and sold out. This year it returns on Boxing Day. Tickets must be purchased in advance from the city’s online shop. The walk, surrounded by gravestones and a sea of candles, offers a reflective way to learn about the stories of past city residents. The theme focuses on Finnish Christmas traditions and songs.
Address: Puistokatu 20, departure from the Old Cemetery’s Tourukatu-side gate
Expect to pay: €10
When? 26 December at 16.00
On New Year’s Eve Jyväskylä Opera presents the premiere of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, a work rarely performed in Finland. Known for its soaring melodies and especially Lucia’s famous madness scene, the opera tells a tragic love story of feuding families and forbidden romance in seventeenth-century Scotland. An international team brings the production to life. The premiere is followed by a New Year’s Opera Ball.
Address: Lutakonaukio 12
Expect to pay: €100/€86
When? 31 December at 19.00
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