Christmas Eve today, Christmas tomorrow

All-out preparations have been made in the country to celebrate Christmas Eve today and Christmas on Monday in a festive mood.

All government, semi-government and private offices and business centres will remain closed on the occasion.

On Christmas Eve some shops may remain open until noon, while on Boxing Day shops not bigger than 400 square metres may remain open from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm.

The alcohol shop Alko will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day., Main postal offices will also remain closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day with the exception of the Helsinki main postal office which will remain open until noon on Christmas Eve.

It is, however, important to note that the majority of postal offices, shops and other businesses operate according to their own timetable during the festive season.The opening hours of postal offices can be found on the Posti website.

The railway traffic will also slow down during the festive season.

VR Group commuter and long-distance trains will run sparingly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, trains will come to a complete standstill by 6.00 pm.On Christmas Day, the trains will be on move again as from 10.00 am.

Both commuter and long-distance trains will run mainly by the Sunday timetable on Boxing Day and on Epiphany.

Also the bus services will not be running some shifts during the Christmas holidays. The exact schedules can be checked at the websites of the VR Group and bus services.