International Christmas Bazaar

Preparing for Christmas celebration in +30 degrees weather sure can be different than walking horizontally in a snow storm or being afraid of losing toes because of a frost bite. As the thermometer climbs higher, people living in Chile start the pre-Christmas celebration.

To get in the Christmas mood they attend Christmas markets under the palm trees. One of such events is the International Christmas Bazaar organised by Damas Diplomáticas of Santiago. Many of the countries that are represented in Chile have their own stand at the fair, where typical products of that country are being sold. The profit of the bazaar is aimed for charity.

As a good citizen I also wanted to do my share for charity. When I heard the Finnish ladies of Chile are participating the Christmas bazaar, I thought what a better way to spend my Saturday!

Photo by Daniel Alvarez.

In addition to Marimekko products and some Finland-inspired books also typical Finnish delicacies such as kanelipulla (cinnamon bun), joulutorttu (a sweet Christmas pastry made of butter dough and plum jam) and piparkakku (ginger bread cookies) were sold.
My Finnish workmate from the Santiago Times and I decided to do toffee lollipops (tikkunekkuja) as our input for charity. However, that fudge cooking attempt did not go as smoothly as planned because I burned my hand in making. Maybe eventually that made the lollipops worth even more!

After our two hour shift was done, we also joined the rest of the gang that was enjoying the lovely warm afternoon in the park, Parque Inés de Suarez. The international flair, cuisine and of course beer brought us a good mood!