Déjà vu for the sweet tooth

I am always kind of surprised if I find some similarities between Israel and Finland or the Jewish culture and the Finnish culture. I mean, come on. Finland is a Christian run country with somewhat 1000 Jewish inhabitants. We haven't been exposed much to Judaism. Even Stockholm has a Jewish museum - Helsinki doesn't. So these two countries and cultures have kinda grown and evolved isolated from one another, unfortunately.

But, I guess it doesn't always apply when it comes to sweets. Everyone's got a sweet tooth no matter what religion, faith or background, or where you live - if you're Jewish or Finnish... It could be like the question of the chicken and the egg – who had it first? I would be guessing the Jews, since when the Jews were already writing, witnessing miracles, building temples and all that, the Finns were still some one-celled organisms in the bottom of a muddy, murky local lake.

So, how did then a Jewish hamentaschen end up evolving into a Finnish joulutorttu? They might taste a bit different but look nearly identical. The Finnish version has powdered sugar is added for a snowy, wintery touch, though.

joyofkosher.com

kotiliesi.fi

Or how did a Hanukkah treat end up at the coffee break table in Finland? Sufganiyah translates to hillomunkki? My mother would surely love visiting Israel for Hanukkah, as she's a die-hard fan of these jam-filled doughnuts. And for an Israeli, any day at a Finnish office at 14:00 would be like celebrating Hanukkah all over again. The miracle never ends...

dimensionsinfo.com

sinuhe.fi

Happy Hanukkah!