“Himmeli Sky”
The word himmeli comes from the Swedish word “himmel”, meaning “sky” or “heaven”. At Raahen Taitopaja, over 150 different himmelis are displayed, allowing you to explore a true
“Himmeli Sky”. Himmelis can be built from almost any tube-like material, such as rye, willow, couch grass, metal, plastic, paper, and glass tubes.
Himmeli Tradition
The himmeli is an ancient Nordic decoration. However, its origins date back as far as the 12th to 16th centuries in Central Europe. The tradition arrived in Finland via Sweden. In fact, the name himmeli refers to the Swedish word himmel, meaning sky or heaven.
In the past, making himmelis was one of the pre-Christmas tasks of young people, especially girls. On Saturday evenings, they would gather in a warm sauna to make the ornaments, as the heat and humidity had softened the straw and made it easier to work with. Young men often joined in as well, so the making of himmelis also provided an opportunity for socializing and courtship among the village youth.
On Christmas Eve, the completed himmeli was brought into the freshly cleaned main room of the house and hung above the dining table.
For ancient Finns, straw was a highly significant material that symbolized the coming harvest year. It was believed that the larger the himmeli, the better the grain harvest would be.
