“It always feels warm to come home,” Johanna says after hard times—on Christmas night, her family of ten sleeps by the tree

Late on Christmas Eve, a Christmas tradition that Johanna Niskanen loves—and grew up with—begins. The family has a habit of bedding down next to the tree. The littlest ones doze off first, some on mattresses on the floor, others on the sofas. Gentle Christmas music plays in the background. Somewhere, someone rustles a chocolate wrapper. Those still awake sit at the table and work on a big jigsaw puzzle.

“A hand dips into the box of chocolates, and sometimes we fetch something else to nibble on. That’s my own Christmas moment, since so often I experience things through the children,” Johanna says.

In a family of ten, peace can at times be only a fond wish, which is why the quiet moments of Christmas night feel especially meaningful. The children’s excitement has peaked with Santa’s visit, and everyone is enjoying their gifts and the holiday mood.

In their new, airy home the family has now celebrated four Christmases. The Niskanens had spent years dreaming of an old house, but it was hard to find the right one. In the new home, Johanna and her husband Samuli still wanted to bring in the spirit of an old house.

The house was designed by Arkkitehtitoimisto AHO. A local construction company handled most of the build, but Samuli also worked on it himself for several months. In the side building, the lakeside sauna and the yard, his own contribution was significant.

“The building period was definitely not all happiness and joy, even though the home was turning into a dream come true. Managing such a big project alongside work and children is no simple thing,” Johanna says.

The family moved into the house four years ago, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, a week after Johanna’s own bout of illness.

“Once, coming home, I asked Samuli how it feels to come here, with such hard times behind us. He said it always feels warm to come home. That’s how I feel too: when you arrive here, you feel sheltered,” Johanna says.

There is a planned neighborhood nearby, but the Niskanens’ home rests on a ridge by Lake Alvajärvi in its own peace. Neighbors won’t be right around the corner in the future, either.

The location is ideal in other ways too: Samuli has a short commute to work and the children to school. Even closer is Johanna’s own workspace. In a room built into a separate wing, she works as a Kalevala bone-setting practitioner and wellness professional. She has also used their spacious living room to host a yoga event.

The home has proven practical and functional. It’s wonderful to invite friends and relatives over.

The upstairs sits over only one half of the house, which gives the living room a lofty height of 6 meters (19’ 8”). That was important to Johanna when they were designing the home.

“Because I get easily overwhelmed by many kinds of things, our home has to have clarity and space—especially since the kids bring so much life and sound.”

The Niskanens celebrate a very traditional Christmas. They see relatives during the holidays, but Christmas Eve is always just for their own family.

“I love to bake, so I make, for example, traditional Karelian pies and festive cheesecakes myself. I also prepare the traditional Christmas casseroles. My mother always brings date cake before Christmas, and my father brings fish he has smoked.”

Evergreen boughs are Johanna’s most important decorating material for Christmas. She uses them as garlands and wreaths throughout the house. She likes to keep the home calm and uncluttered even at Christmas, so she doesn’t go in for excessive decor. Flowers, however, she always buys in abundance.

At the time of the annually televised Declaration of Christmas Peace on Christmas Eve, the family eats rice porridge and smoked fish the children love. In the afternoon they gather in the cottage room of the yard sauna, where the sauna elf has brought punch and snacks to nibble.

“This tradition from Samuli’s childhood home has become important in our own Christmas, too. Now that the sauna is in a separate building down by the shore, going there feels like a Christmas outing.”

After four o’clock, it’s time to set out the food on the dining table in the living area. It is customary to read the Christmas Gospel and sing a carol.

“If the end of the year has been hectic, it’s wonderful just to be at home. In some years I’ve gone with the older kids to a midnight service.”

Once the home has settled into Christmas, it feels right over the Christmas days to remember those who have already passed: in the flicker of a candle flame, they are all present in that moment.

In the Niskanen family, traditions are a big part of the Christmas spirit. With customs and memories from Johanna’s and Samuli’s childhoods, the beloved ones feel close. Hellebore, also called the Christmas rose, also brings loved ones to mind, as it’s Johanna’s mother’s favorite Christmas flower too.

For this big family, Christmas is a time with no hurry. It lights a spark in the middle of the darkness, present in the quiet moment of Christmas night when all your loved ones are around you. The Christmas rose glows. A child falls asleep happily beside their siblings, next to the tree.