Nuutti’s Day (Jan 13th) ended the Joulu period. For weeks people had enjoyed good food and drink, and remembered the visiting dead and haltija spirits. The sacred time was brought to an end with a joyful and noisy celebration after which spinning and other everyday works could again began.

Nuutti’s Day was traditionally the seventh day of January. The day was moved to its current location to January 13 only in the early 1700s. Hence many customs and sayings associated with Nuutti’s Day actually refer to the seventh day of January.

There was a lively tradition called the “Nuuttipukki” that continued until the WWII. Nuuttipukki (nuutti-goats), or “hiiva-pukki” (yeast-goats) were oddly dressed men or women. They often had sheepskin or goat fleece over their heads, their faces were covered with masks made of leather or birch bark, or were painted black with soot. Long beards hang from their jaws. Nuuttipukki could also wear a pelt turned inside out or a long jacket made from straws. Some pukki had a long stick with a wet bath whisk tied to the other end that was used to hit people.

Group of Nuuttipukkis went from house to house. When they arrived, they sang greetings words and asked if there were any “yeasts” left, referring to the beer brewed for Joulu. Household members were supposed to provide them with beer and food. If there was no beer, the pukki would steal the pins from beer kegs and ridicule the house with songs. In Northern Finland, tree stumps were carried inside houses that did not display sufficient hospitality. If, however, the pukkis were treated with hospitality and abundant food and drink, they thanked the house and sang their praises.

As the pukkis progressed from house to house, more people joined in the procession. The pukkis made a mark to the door or rear wall of each house to tell it had paid its “taxes”. If a house provided plenty of food and drink, pictures depicting the haarikka (beer tankard) were drawn to the house’s wall – the number of drawings would signify the number tankards offered. The drawings were kept in place for the whole winter as witness to the wealth and hospitality of the house.

The donated food and drinks could be collected into one house that had been selected for hosting the last games and dances of the Joulu season. The townspeople arrived in the evening to eat and drink together. There was loud music and dancing as people said their farewell to the festive season. After the feast ended, people took the straws that had been brought in on Tuomas’s Day and carried them out of side. Joulu was over.

Translation: Anssi A.