Two Children’s Workshops Celebrate Northern Europe’s “Little Christmas”

Little Christmas is coming to Cheshire County this holiday season with two family-friendly workshops focused on winter solstice customs in Northern European countries. Children and adults, alike, will create straw-plaited holiday ornaments and Christmas tonttu (elves) to take home.

Work Shop 1 on Saturday, November 18th from 10am-12pm master craftsman Lark Leonard will conduct a straw-plaited ornament workshop. Participants will learn about the harvesting of grain, and the expressions of gratitude for the harvest in Finland and Sweden, before making their own Christmas ornament to bring home. Straw-plaiting is a custom many centuries old and is used as a way of thanking the earth for its abundance. Ms. Leonard is a folk ornament-maker from Langdon, NH who has been a member of the League of NH Craftsmen and the Hannah Grimes Center in Keene.   The workshop will take place at the Historical Society of Cheshire County, 246 Main Street in Keene. This workshop is limited to 12 people.  Children must be accompanied by an adult.  Register by calling 603.352.1895 or visiting the Society during normal business hours.

Workshop #2 on December 7th from 4pm-6pm local Finnish historian Zachary Giroux will lead a children’s story and craft hour focused on the mythical elves known in Finland as Tonttu. Learn the story of the elves that watch over local farms and their animals and, together with the Yule goat Julbocken, bring presents to good boys and girls throughout Finland at Christmastime. This free workshop will take place at the Jaffrey Public Library at 38 Main Street in Jaffrey. Registration is limited to 20 children. To register call Jaffrey Public Library at 603-531-7301.

Little Christmas workshops are part of the Historical Society of Cheshire County’s year-long series entitled Our Community: Celebrating the Mosaic of Cultures that make up Cheshire County with support from the Finlandia Foundation.

The Historical Society of Cheshire County is located at 246 Main Street in Keene. The organization has been collecting, preserving, and communicating the history of Cheshire County for 90 years. The Society puts on about 150 programs each year to help people of all ages “find their place in history.” For more information, visit hsccnh.org or call 603.352.1895.

The Jaffrey Public Library is located at 38 Main Street in beautiful downtown Jaffrey, NH, home to Mount Monadnock. The library offers both a print and digital collection for children, teens and adults, as well as modern library services and programming for all ages.