Christmas is here!

This post has a lot of pictures, which means really bad formatting on my part. Apologies!

Christmas tree lighting! Notice the huge crowd?

This week I have my first visitor. Ironically, he lived on my floor two months ago and had been living in another dorm in Turku for six months before he moved back to his hometown in Italy. So Turku isn’t exactly new to him and he told me as much. In fact, he complained that there wasn’t really anything to do in Turku (to which the appropriate response would have been to say that he was here to see me so that shouldn’t matter. But that is now a lost opportunity).

The truth is that Turku is completely different now than it was two months ago, much less in August when I first arrived. I have said on multiple occasions that I love being in Turku and Christmastime might be one of the best seasons to pay a visit. Shops have put Christmas lights up. Kauppatori has a pathway cutting right through it that is adorned with lights, creating the illusion of a canopy covering part of the square.

And there is the majestic 20-feet-tall Christmas tree in front of the cathedral. I had the fortune of walking by moments before they lit the tree a week ago. The square in front of the cathedral was packed with the largest crowd I have seen gathered in Turku thus far, showing how important Christmas is to the city.

But my favorite are the bridges.

There are several bridges that cross the Aura throughout the city. Throughout the year, these bridges have colorful lights glowing in the darkness, making it a little more bearable when the sun already sets at 4 in the afternoon in early November. Two bridges in particular, though, for whatever reason, have been decorated especially elaborately for Christmas.

The first bridge

One is very simple, in both structure and decoration. Year round this bridge is lit up with a soft shade of green and blue light so it glows in the darkness. In honor of the holidays, the city has put small speakers that are tucked away in the railing. All day long, these speakers play music for the passers-by. This includes a variety of classical music, sometimes Christmas songs, sometimes upbeat tunes and sometimes pleasant orchestra pieces.

I’ve always wished that my life could have a soundtrack like there is in the movies and walking across this bridge makes me feel like I do.

A view of the second bridge from afar

Standing on the second bridge

The second bridge is much more elaborate. Like the first, it also includes music and lights but there are also pine trees that have been lined all along both sides of the bridge. The trees exude a faint smell of pine and there are always at least one or two people taking pictures or video as they walk across. When there is snow on the ground the bridge feels like a winter wonderland.

I love the amount of care and holiday spirit that has gone into the bridges, tree and city lights. It’s as if the city is saying that, even though the days are dark and the sunlight seems to be permanently be hidden behind clouds, there is still plenty to be cheerful about.