Red Houses at Christmas

Many wooden houses are painted deep red in Finland. The deep red tradition didn’t actually start in Finland, but rather, in Sweden.  The ores from copper mines in Falun produced iron oxide, a byproduct of burning the ore to obtain the copper. Originally the red dirt was considered trash and piled up beside the mine. A few hundred years later, someone noticed that the pile had not rotted or decayed and began manufacturing it as paint. Since it was cheap and easy to produce, many wealthy people did not use it, preferring to use expensive pigments in colors of yellow or white. Finland calls this red paint punamulta, or “red earth”. 

Red houses  at Christmas by Finnish illustrators

Illustration Aila Utriainen

Illustration by Anita Polkutie

Illustration  by Jaana Aalto

Illustration by Maikki Parikka

Illustration by Heikki Laaksonen

Illustration by Marjaliisa Pitkäranta

Illustration Minna Immonen

Illustration Minna Lehväslaiho

Illustration Omppu Omenamäki

Illustration by Raija Riihimäki

My red house ♥ at  Christmas time