Finnish Christmas party

Wall lights, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

There is a tradition in Finland that employers organize a party for the staff in November-December before Christmas (in Finnish "pikkujoulut", "little Christmas").

Many companies have legends about what has happened in the Christmas parties. Although no-one discusses these things openly, in smaller groups the details are later recollected with relish.

In some companies, the Christmas party is an occasion for the staff to give criticism to the bosses, in others it is vice versa. Perhaps more commonly, this is an occasion of acting crazy and using large amounts of alcohol. (And this is quite a lot, when considered in the context of the notorious Finnish use of alcohol in general. We are not at the top in terms of total consumption, but the use style is quite hefty.) The effects of the partying is seen on the streets of cities late at night, especially in taxi queues.

This photo has as such nothing to do with a Christmas party, except that it is appropriately blurry, and that our company organizes the party this evening. So, I won't do any more photography today.