Finnish New Year’s Eve, tiny is melted to predict the future

A New Year’s Tradition: Finnish Tin Melting

On New Year’s Eve, the Finnish used to melt tin on the stove to see their future.

Tin was melted over a fire on a special type of spoon and tossed into the snow or into very cold water, where they freeze instantly into unusual shapes. Those shapes were said to be harbingers of the year to come.

Most Finnish households even had a little frying pan dedicated only for the tin melting!

Reijo Pentikainen, a Helsinki resident who grew up with the tradition. “The one with money and wealth is the obvious one,” Pentikainen said. “It has a rough surface or a bubbly surface.”

“A shadow that looks like a wave is supposed to mean that changes are on the way, while an anchor means stability. The shapes can be interpreted literally or symbolically.”

“A ship is said to signify movement, while a key hints at good luck in your career. Although a shape like a horse means you may get a new car, any other animal is said to mean you have a friend whom you can’t trust. In a nod to the country’s agrarian roots, a basket means that you’ll have a good mushroom harvest next year. It’s best to pour the tin quickly, as a metal that breaks up into little pieces forebodes a rough year ahead.”

However, The EU banned any lead use in 2018. Most of the tin contained as much as 95 percent lead, according to the Finnish news site Yle. As a result, the tradition was banned as well. Finnish is excitedly waiting to come up with any eco-friendly substitutes for the tin because the tradition is so much fun for them.

Rather than using metal that contains tin, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency has recommended melting sugar or beeswax. Even heating up old candles has been offered up as an alternative. But newspapers were quick to warn that beeswax needn’t be heated at such a high heat and that, in fact, it can ignite if overheated.

The tin-antimony option isn’t also cheap though. Although an internet search through Finnish websites didn’t turn up tin-antimony horseshoes, we did find some tin-antimony rods, each weighing just over two ounces and selling for 41.63 euros (or $50) for a package of ten.

That may seem like a lot of money, but maybe it’s not so much when the future is in question. And if you get some good news, that isn’t a bad way to start the new year. You could even look back on your melted tin prediction throughout the year if things start to look grim. After all, good news should be held onto.

“You’d keep it for a while,” says Pentikainen of the melted tin. “Especially if it’s a good one. You’d keep it on your desk or in your cupboard.”

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