In the great Finnish song cycle known as the Kalevala, compiled from folk tales by Elias Lönnrot in 1849, heroic first human Väinämöinen fights an epic battle against witch queen Louhi for a magical talisman, the Sampo. (Full marks if you're reminded of J.R.R. Tolkien, who acknowledged the Kalevala as an inspiration for his Silmarillion.) During the battle, the Sampo gets lost to the sea. In retaliation, Louhi not only dispatches plagues and a monstrous bear, she also steals the sun, moon and fire from the land of Kaleva. It's only when Väinämöinen threatens to tear a confining mountain apart that she releases the sun and moon back into the heavens.

This is juicy stuff, leagues from the fairy-tale fjords of Disney's Frozen. This year, Puget Sound Revels dip into the Kalevala to present a Nordic spectacular. We're talking 60-plus actors, comedians, dancers and musicians in colorful Scandinavian costumes, sawing away at hardingfeles and nyckelharpas (Nordic fiddles). I talked to Puget Sound Revels' executive director, Mary Lynn, about this year's heartwarming program.

"Most communities developed street theater of some sort," Lynn explained, "whether it's panto or the English mumming tradition. It's not high art. As one director put it, it's ‘alcohol-proof theater,' so the stock characters know what to say and when to say it, no matter what. It was (Italian) commedia last year. This year we've got Swedish and Norwegian drinking songs. The Finnish pieces are more composed. We want the audience to feel they're part of a celebrating community that has come together in the dark time. In Scandinavia, winter is really a dark time. We're drawing from things across that region."

The Revels are often more humanist than nostalgic or sacred. "People put it in their own categories," Lynn countered. "For us, it's a straight piece of theater that draws on the cultural traditions of a time and place. Sometimes, the solstice is most important; in Scotland, New Year's is a bigger deal. We think of it as entirely secular, like The Nutcracker. The caveat is it's deeply moving for people. We do - and we need to - tap into something that's been in traditional communities for centuries: a longing to come together to mark the year. The audience becomes a part of the dance, a part of the singing. It means so much to people; they tell me the holiday season isn't the same if they don't come to The Christmas Revels. They've been coming since they were small, and now they're coming with a grandchild or a child. It matters to people in a way that touches them in a deep place. For some, it marks their year, and it's a tradition they need."

Community matters. It warms when the sun can't. So fight on, Väinämöinen! The players of Puget Sound Revels have rallied behind you.

THE CHRISTMAS REVELS, 2 p.m. Dec. 19 and 23, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 and 22, 1 and 5:30 p.m. Dec. 20, Rialto Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma, $12-$34, 253.591.5890