The Christmas tree tradition and a surprising number of old Christmas carols originated at the country's first Finnish-language teacher training college in Jyväskylä.
The Finnish-language teacher training college founded by Uno Cygnaeus began operating in Jyväskylä in 1863. As there was hardly any Finnish-language teaching material available, new material had to be created. Singing was an important and popular subject at the seminar, as many educationalists had spoken of the refining effect of singing on the human mind.
One of the most prolific composers of old Finnish Christmas songs was Pekka Juhani Hannikainen, a music lecturer at the Jyväskylä seminar. Perhaps the best known of these is the circle dance song Joulupukki (Santa Claus), for which Hannikainen also wrote the lyrics. The song was first performed at a celebration at the teacher training college's model school in the 1910s, and since then it has been used to greet Santa Claus for a century, both in schools and at home.
Hannikainen also composed the following Christmas songs
- Kautta tyynen vienon yön
- Tuikkikaa, oi joulun tähtöset
- Hiljaa, hiljaa helkkyellen
- Joulu, joulu, tullut
- J.H. Erkko's lyrics Jouluaattona (Oi terve joulukuusi) and No, onkos tullut kesä
Otto Kotilainen, a graduate of the Jyväskylä Seminary, has composed songs such as Kun joulu on and Varpunen jouluaamuna.
Martti Korpilahti, who studied in Jyväskylä, wrote the Finnish lyrics for Sylvia's Christmas song and the French Christmas song Heinillä härkien kaukalon (In the Hay, the Oxen's Trough).