Finnish Christmas market in Germany

It may feel more like London fog than the Finnish Lapland at Leipzig’s Kalevala Spirit Christmas market this year, but it only serves to add to the magical atmosphere. From Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, the "Kalevala" was compiled by Elias Lönnrot and first published in 1835. The epic poetry helped inspire a Finnish national identity that lead to Finnish Independence.

It's 8 a.m. on Augustusplatz, and the fog hasn't lifted. The koto - or traditional dwellings of the Sami, the indigenous people of the Lapland - stand proud, warm and welcoming. While the original koto are made of wooden sticks covered with reindeer hides, these modern kotos are produced in Sweden by a company called Tentpi who use the latest materials and construction techniques.

John Englemann removes the oil that has collected in the pans where the salmon is smoked. This is his fifth year working, and it's obvious he loves it. He is happy to use traditional methods and to talk to people. Canadians and Arabs have told him they use a very similar technique for smoking fish. There's no doubt he'll return next year.

Meanwhile the wood for the fires in being prepared. Only birch and beech are used as birch bark peels easily and serves as kindling. They use about one cubic meter each day, and it comes from the forest near Brandenberg. Deliveries arrive about every 10 days. After delivery there is so much wood stacked up, it's difficult for shorter people to see the salmon being smoked.

Inside they are getting ready for the first rush. This year they've brought in four Finnish chefs. Henrik Hellsten, the head chef, now lives in Spain. He used to do catering on movie sets in Holland and likes the excitement of the mobile kitchen. He said he wants to move back to Finland someday. He is excited about a return to traditional Finnish cooking using locally grown fresh ingredients.

Henrik has expanded the market's menu to offer salmon soup and reindeer, the latter of which is served on a bread roll, sloppy joe style. Finnish cuisine uses lots of allspice and dill. On a typical day at the market, they use about 100 kilograms of cucumbers, 100 kilograms of potatoes and between 400-600 kilograms of salmon. The bread is made fresh at the bakery next door.

Now it's time to put the salmon on wooden slabs with beech pegs. It takes about two hours for them to be ready. If the fire is too hot, they scorch on the outside. The men watching the fires judge the cooking time by instinct. They have plenty of experience and said in Finland it would take four to five hours - but that's counting catching the fish and looking for the wood.

Traditional "glöggi" is on hand. The warm beverage is made by heating up sweetened red wine with spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, orange peel, lemon peel and ginger. These mugs are ready and waiting. The bear paw print is there because Finland has the most brown bears in Europe. In fact near the town of Kuhmo, there are about 1,000 out of 200,000 brown bears worldwide.

Lunch time and all the preparation has paid off. Kalevala Spirit runs four Finnish Christmas markets. One is in Kuhmo, Finland, and the other three are in Germany: Hanover, Leipzig and Stuttgart. The staff is international and many are Finnish students studying languages or business. This gives them first-hand experience in both fields.

On the side are huts with Finnish products. This one has lots of hats, including ones to wear in the sauna to keep your hair from getting too hot. They also have handmade plush bears and plenty of recycled accessories. Jaana Hilgenfeld works here. Her mom is a Finn and though she grew up in Germany, she is in touch with her roots and is on the board of the German-Finnish society.

Around 10,000 Finns live in Germany. A stand at the market offers an assortment of wines and spirits, including "Salmiakki Koskenkorva," made with vodka and ground Turkish Pepper brand salty liquorice. There are also bonbons of salty liquorice and tasty cordial chocolates filled with cloudberry liquor.

Night falls again, and the place is packed with merry-makers. They may have to wait in line, but it's a small price to pay to have their fill of salmon, glöggi, warmth, spirits and laughter while they visit the magical land of Kalevala and reindeer without having to leave town. Some just aren't ready to go home when the market closes.