The oldest town in Finland, Turku, is the home of Finnish Christmas celebration. Many European traditions and habits of Christmas have spread to the rest of Finland through Turku.

The best-known Christmas tradition in Turku, the Declaration of Christmas Peace takes place in front of the Brinkkala Mansion at the Old Great Square on Christmas Eve. As far as is known, Turku is the only place in the Nordic countries where the tradition of the Declaration of Christmas Peace has continued uninterruptedly from the Middle Ages. The whole of Finland and parts of the neighboring countries calm down to listen to the solemn Declaration through the radio and television. In the last few years, the traditional Declaration of Christmas Peace has been accompanied by a new tradition of the ecumenical appeal for world peace delivered in Turku Cathedral by bishops of four different denominations. Unique in the whole world, the ecumenical appeal for world peace will take place on December 18, 2003. Last year the humanitarian appeal for peace was presented by representatives of the organization Doctors without Borders.

Apart from the Grand Opening of the Christmas City, the events repeated annually include the Christmas Market, Santa Lucia's Day celebration, Twelfth Day skating and St. Knut's Day Carnival. You can listen to the Christmas tidings and the most beautiful Christmas carols in the Cathedral, the national shrine of Finland. The Christmas tree in front of the Cathedral sheds light on the Christmas season. The traditional Christmas Market will be organized in the splendid, historical milieu of the Old Great Square from November 29-30, December 6-7 and December 13-14. The products sold in the market are handmade. During the Christmas season you can try the different tastes of Christmas dishes in many restaurants and tourist resorts. Christmas dinner tables since the Middle Ages are shown in a number of museums. For example, at the Turku Castle there is the sumptuous Christmas dinner table of the Renaissance Court, decorated with a peacock, while the Luostarinmaki Handicrafts Museum shows simpler Christmas tables from the 1800's and 1900's.