The Helsinki City Museum, Children's Town and the Burgher’s House Museum Invite You to Enjoy the Holiday Season Once Again  

The City Museum’s holiday season opening event will be held on Saturday 27 November 13:00–16:00. Children’s Christmas invites families to enjoy gingerbread cookies, take part in some Christmas chores and meet Santa. This year, too, the museum has been decked out with festive decorations: The windows feature Helsinki-themed Christmas stars by Willem Heeffer, and the children from the Estonian-speaking Annila Daycare Centre have decorated the museum’s Christmas tree. Grandma's home and the school in Children's Town also have a touch of Christmas cheer. Additionally, you can find great Christmas gift ideas, from games and books to socks in the museum’s shop. The selection features items such as the brand new book about the Burgher’s House and nostalgic Christmas decorations. The City Museum’s holiday market will be held on Saturday and Sunday 4–5 December 11:00–17:00, and the Siller choir will perform on 12 December at 15:00.   

Christmas Mystery for the Whole Family   

Christmas Mystery is a free mobile game for children from the Helsinki City Museum and Helsinki Christmas Market, which is played around the Market Square. The game starts at the Market Hall and ends at the Helsinki City Museum. The game is available 27 November–22 December at joulumysteeri.fi. The game is a fun way of getting to know the history of Christmas in Helsinki, and the players who manage to solve the mystery can expect a delicious prize during the museum’s opening hours, Mon–Fri 11:00–19:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–17:00.   

Christmas Cheer of Eras Past in the Oldest Wooden House in Helsinki   

The Burgher’s House has been a popular attraction around the Christmas season for decades. The house will be decorated in a style typical of the mid-19th century, which is simpler than today’s decor but creates a warm, inviting feeling. Visitors can enjoy the delicious scents of Christmas by the warmth of the kitchen stove, picturing hard-working pairs of hands baking gingerbread cookies. In the sleeping chamber, presents are being wrapped in small packages, closed with a seal and featuring a fun riddle. The small Christmas tree in the sitting room, decorated with candles and cookies, stands on the table, as is typical of the era.  

A Christmas event will be held at Burgher’s House on Sunday 12 December at 15:00. Visitors can soak up the atmosphere in the museum house’s various rooms and talk about the house’s history and old Christmas traditions with the knowledgeable guides. The outbuilding's chamber will feature a workshop for making Christmas tree decorations based on authentic 19th century instructions. Chamber choir Värinä will be performing Christmas-time tunes in the garden at 13:00 and 14:00. The museum shop will be full of warm feeling and delightful gift ideas.  

Holiday Season Events at the Helsinki City Museum:   
   
Christmas Mystery – a game for the whole family 27 November–22 December   
Welcome to an adventure into the history of Christmas in Helsinki! You can solve the Christmas Mystery by visiting five different locations near the Market Square and the Helsinki Christmas Market. The game lasts approximately 30 minutes. The game route starts at the Market Hall and ends at the Helsinki City Museum (Aleksanterinkatu 16). Players who manage to solve the mystery can expect a delicious prize during the museum’s opening hours, Mon–Fri 11:00–19:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–17:00. You can start the game at www.joulumysteeri.fi.     

Children’s Christmas on Saturday 27 November 13:00–16:00   
Children’s Christmas offers a holiday programme for the little ones. At the event, visitors can enjoy warm juice and gingerbread for as long as they are available.     

Programme:   
13:00–13:45 Stadin Juhlaorkesteri orchestra  
14:00–14:20 Children's Magic Christmas Show by magician Keke Pulliainen. After the show, the magician makes balloon art for children.  
14:30–15:15 Stadin Juhlaorkesteri orchestra  
13:00–16:00 Holiday decoration workshop in the Falkman wing. At the workshop, you can also write a postcard and join the ‘Christmas Post to the Elderly’ campaign.   
13:00–16:00 Making gingerbread men out of cardboard: workshop at Kasari  
13:00–16:00 Holiday-themed colouring pages at the Children's Town   
13:00–16:00 Santa Claus tours the museum. You can find Santa in the museum lobby at 13:30–14:00 and 15:00–15:30.   

Audio and light art in the courtyards of Helsinki City Museum   
27 November 2021–13 January 2022   
   
'Community' light installation by Artturi Elovirta 
In the Sederholm yard  

Artturi Elovirta’s light installation, Yhteisö (Community), is based on the transformation of urban trade, digitalisation and changes in the cityscape: how the urban space will be used in the future and who cities are for. The installation aims to present the following questions to its audience: Is the city open or closed? Is the city permissive or prohibitive? Is the city a facilitator or a denier?  

'Summer Amid Winter' audio installation by Mikko H. Haapoja (2021)  
In the yards of Govinius and Falkman and at the Katariinankatu entrance  

The audio installation Kesä talven keskellä (Summer Amid Winter) is a part of the Keskusmetsä (Central Forest) installation of the Routes of Helsinki, focused on urban nature in the 2020s. The Routes of Helsinki is a series of works started by media artist Mikko H. Haapoja in 2010. The series deals with the soundscape in the capital city of Finland. 

Holiday market on Saturday and Sunday 4–5 December 11:00–17:00   
Welcome to the holiday market full of festive cheer! Come and enjoy holiday music and treats while shopping! Vendor stalls by ceramic studio Paloina, Uusix Workshops, Vanhankaupungin Suklaa chocolatier, Kaffe Obscura, Café Ursula and Rouva Rusakko. Music performances by Tuomas Vertanen and Hanna-Maaria Tuomela. Entry to the event is free of charge.     

House of Nostalgia – In Love With An Illusive Past 8 December 2021–13 January 2022.   
In the atmospheric lobby of Helsinki City Museum, you can see the In Love With An Illusive Past exhibition of clothing and accessories inspired by eras past, as well as getting to know the stories behind the patterns and clothes. House of Nostalgia is a Helsinki-based design company that designs and produces vintage-style clothing and accessories.  

Siller choir’s Christmas concert on Sunday 12 December at 15:00   
The choir will be performing in the lobby of the City Museum, singing holiday-themed songs in Estonian, Finnish and English. The mixed choir Siller, founded in Helsinki in 2007, is the oldest Finnish-Estonian choir in Finland.   
   
Read more:   
https://www.helsinginkaupunginmuseo.fi/en/events/     

Opening Hours During the Holiday Season:   
   
Helsinki City Museum   
Aleksanterinkatu 16   
Open on Mon–Fri 11:00–19:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–17:00.   
On New year’s Eve 31 December 11:00–15:00.   
Closed on 23–26 December, 1 January and 7 January.   
www.helsinginkaupunginmuseo.fi   
   
Burgher’s House Museum   
Kristianinkatu 12   
Open 27 November–19 December Wed–Fri 13:00 to 18:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–17:00, 20 December–9 January Wed–Sun 11:00–17:00   
On New Year’s Eve 31 December 11:00–15:00.   
Closed on 6 December, 23–26 December, 1 January and 7 January.   
www.ruiskumestarintalo.fi   
   
Entry is always free!