Starry-eyed study of Finnish

Life & society Language

Ready to take your Finnish to the next level? We look at three little volumes that will surely expand your Finnish vocabulary – and it will be practically painless.

So you’ve built up quite an impressive knowledge of Finnish. In fact, some time ago you stopped considering yourself a beginner and promoted yourself to intermediate. Your vocabulary is growing stronger all the time, and you know how to do more than just order beer and buy tram tickets.

However, how do you make the transition to that elusive next stage – the one where you truly grasp what people around you are talking about and really express yourself in conversation? Here are three dictionaries that will help you expand your knowledge of Finnish – and of Finnish culture, too.

Multilingual metaphors

3368-vf_turkuarchipelago029_2347_550-jpg

Cross-cultural cake: An expensive dessert might “cost strawberries” for a Finn, but an English speaker pays an arm and a leg.Photo: Visit Finland

If your mother tongue is English, Swedish, German, French or Spanish, then you’ll enjoy Kielikuvia ja fraaseja kuudella kielellä (Figures of Speech and Phrases in Six Languages, published by Gummerus). Ever decode a Finnish phrase but still fail to understand what it means? This book can help.

For example, you may realise that vetää nenästä translates directly to “pull by the nose,” but you might not comprehend, unless you have Kielikuvia to tell you, that it’s the equivalent of pulling someone’s leg in English. And if a Finn laittaa kaikki yhden kortin varaan (puts everything on one card), that person is putting all his or her eggs in one basket.

Amazingly, something that is täyttä hepreaa (complete Hebrew) in Finnish can simultaneously be all Greek to English speakers. And if something maksaa mansikoita (costs strawberries) for the Finns, that’s a bargain compared to what it costs for English speakers: an arm and a leg. Similarly, in Finnish you may joutua ojasta allikkoon (go from the ditch into the puddle), whereas English speakers must jump straight from the frying pan into the fire.

Express yourself

For systematically improving your vocabulary, a better bet may be Suomen kielen sanakirja maahanmuuttajille (Finnish Dictionary for Immigrants, Gummerus). It’s all in Finnish, so it doesn’t matter what your first language is.

Each entry contains a clearly written definition, followed by example sentences to show you how the word is used in context. Many entries include synonyms, antonyms and sayings.

If you look up rehkiä (toil), you’ll see the following (the English translations are ours): Kun joku rehkii, hän tekee liikaa töitä. (When someone toils, he or she does too much work.) We like the example sentence: Toimittaja rehkii pitkiä päiviä. (A journalist puts in long days.) And for good measure they add a synonym, raataa (drudge), and an antonym, laiskotella (laze around).

The authors admit in the foreword that “using a unilingual dictionary may seem strange to the reader at first, but it is worth it.” They continue, “The more students use the Finnish language, the more knowledgeable they become about the language and the better they can express themselves in Finnish.”

Thirst for success

All “in the same boat”: This is one expression that is exactly the same in English and Finnish.Photo: Visit Finland

If you’re still thirsting for more definitions and figures of speech, take it to the next level with Suurella sydämellä ihan sikana – Suomen kielen kuvaileva fraasisanakirja (roughly: With Your Heart in It like Crazy: Dictionary of Finnish Figurative Phrases, Gummerus).

The foreword of this unilingual dictionary astutely notes that expressions “don’t just convey information, but also provide insights into a culture.” They also indicate feelings and moods. The definitions and example sentences help readers understand what the phrases mean and when they are used.

How about the verb mennä (to go)? In Finnish, things don’t “go to the dogs,” but something can mennä poskelleen (go on its cheek), mennä aivan penkin alle (go completely under the bench) or mennä puihin (go to the trees), all of which mean “to fail.” However, if things mennä putkeen (go into the pipe) or mennä nappiin (go to the button), then you’ve succeeded.

You need look only as far as the first letter of the alphabet to find your first ahaa-elämys (“aha experience,” meaning a flash of realisation) – and the rest of the book is full of them.

By Peter Marten, November 2011

Surname stories: Land of the –nens

Life & society Language

The most common Finnish-language surnames include Korhonen, Virtanen, Nieminen, Mäkinen, Hämäläinen, Koskinen, Heikkinen and Järvinen. Yes, this land loves its –nen suffix, a sure way to recognise a Finnish surname.

More than a third of all Finns have surnames ending in -nen. Though the Finnish suffix –nen is normally a diminutive, in surnames it more often signifies belonging to a place where a family lived. Virtanen could literally mean “small stream,” but the surname was devised to mean a family living near a stream. Mäkinen, literally “small hill,” correspondingly meant the family from the hill.

“Many families chose this kind of surname made of a natural feature with the suffix –nen in the Finnish national romantic period of the 19th century,” explains Sirkka Paikkala, who studies Finnish surnames at the Research Institute for Languages of Finland.

“The –nen suffix was originally from Finland’s Eastern surname tradition, but in the 1800s such surnames were also adopted in the West and that’s why they are now so widespread,” she says.

The rivals: Virtanen and Korhonen

There has recently been extremely tight competition for top ranking between the two most common Finnish surnames, Virtanen and Korhonen (the equivalents to Smith and Jones). But the Korhonens now seem to be taking a lead, by either breeding faster or living longer. In July 2014 the Finnish Population Register Centre announced that there are 23,380 Korhonens, compared to 23,141 Virtanens.

In third place we find Mäkinen with 21,113, and quickly catching up are the Nieminens in fourth place with 21,054. The obscure origins of the top surname Korhonen may be related to deafness or a word meaning “old man.”

The non-nen surnames

A basket full of bilberries on a cliff surrounded by heathers.

Many surnames reflect the Finns’ close relationship to nature, for example a popular surname Kanerva (heather).Photo: Visit Finland

But it’s not all about the –nens. Many western Finnish surnames end in the suffix –la or –lä, which indicated association with a place (for example Mäkelä is connected to a hill) or a farmstead (Juhani Mattila indicates “Juhani from Matti’s farm”). “Some surnames also relate to a profession, like Seppälä for someone from a smithy,” Paikkala adds.

Many surnames reflect the Finns’ close relationship to nature. Examples include Kanerva (heather), Nummi (moor), Kivi (stone), Niemi (peninsula) and Halla (frost). In one Helsinki suburb a Mr Susi (wolf) lives next door to the Sikanen family, whose name can be understood as meaning “little pigs.”

Past and present trends

Cliffs and evergreens, with a lake and small islands in the background.

During early 20th century many Finns translated their former Swedish-language names into Finnish; for example writer Alexis Stenvall changed his name to Aleksis Kivi (Aleksis Rock).Photo: Kimmo Mäntylä/Lehtikuva

Paikkala’s book Se tavallinen Virtanen (which translates roughly to “The Average Smith”) is an extensive study of Finnish surnames in the period 1850–1921 when many families first officially adopted hereditary surnames. During the Fennicisation movement of the early 20th century many Finns translated their former Swedish-language names into Finnish. Writer Alexis Stenvall changed his name to Aleksis Kivi, and the renowned painter Axel Waldemar Gallén became Akseli Gallen-Kallela.

But Paikkala enthusiastically explains that her work is not all about digging into dusty archives: “I often have to deal with email or phone enquiries when people are looking for the etymology of a surname, or feel they need a completely new surname.”

Some unusual surnames with obscure origins have strange meanings in modern Finnish, including Kiimamaa (land in heat), Patja (mattress), Makkara (sausage), Kaalinpää (cabbage head), Punkki (mite), Romu (junk), and Hikipää (sweaty head).

Some unusual surnames with obscure origins have strange meanings in modern Finnish, including Kaalinpää (cabbage head).Photo: Kimmo Mäntylä/Lehtikuva

According to Paikkala, a new trend is discernible among newlyweds. “Couples planning marriage look for a totally new surname to indicate the beginning of a new life. This phenomenon started in the 1990s after Finnish laws were changed to allow both women and men to choose their surname.”

However, upon marriage about 80 percent of Finnish women still assume their husband’s surname or combine their maiden name and their husband’s name. Combining Finnish surnames in this way opens up amusing possibilities. If Mr Pulska (fat) marries Miss Orava (squirrel), he might become Pulska-Orava (fat squirrel). And if Miss Nälkäinen (hungry), marries Mr Karhu (bear), she could become Nälkäinen-Karhu (hungry bear).

By Carina Chela and Fran Weaver, June 2011; updated July 2014

Vegetarian inroads into Christmas dinner

Christmas Cuisine

Christmas has the potential to be a compromising time for vegetarians – in most Finnish families the table bears a large cut of ham. Years of work by vegetarian cooks are helping nontraditional foods make inroads into the menu.

While perhaps not eager to consider herself in a grandmotherly role, Tuija Ruuska admits that she must be one of the longest-serving vegetarian cooks in the business in Helsinki – and that probably means all of Finland, too. “But you have to include my partner Hanni Brotherus here in Kasvisbaari for that title. We share the honours in this restaurant.” At the restaurant-cafeteria of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, the team serves over 200 meals every day to students and faculty; all dishes are vegetarian.

“The thing that has changed fundamentally in Finland is attitudes towards choice,” Ruuska declares. While even the most conventional restaurants now supply at least one vegetarian option, more committed establishments like Ruuska’s offer only vegetarian fare – and always provide an alternative for vegans, who include dairy products and eggs on the list of things they don’t eat.

Vegetarian perspectives

For many years Helsinki’s only dedicated vegetarian restaurant, Kasvis, was located near St John’s Church, just south of the city centre. Ruuska and many other budding young restaurateurs passed through the establishment. It definitely had an alternative feel with its simple food and hand-written menus.

Today a wide variety of Finnish and ethnic restaurants all over the city offer daily vegetarian selections. A handful of restaurants specialise in serving a strictly non-meat selection at lunchtime: Zucchini in the heart of Helsinki (Fabianinkatu 4) and Silvoplee in Hakaniemi (Toinen linja 7) both offer Christmas dishes in December.

Ruuska’s Kasvisbaari presents a genuinely alternative menu of festive food during the pre-Christmas season. This year it features marinated beans, nut loaves and some very traditional Finnish foods:

“Traditional Finnish vegetable casseroles – potato, carrot or turnip – are very heavy and use large quantities of cream and even sugar to pep them up,” she says. “We rely on soy products and careful spicing to bring them alive. But we still serve them alongside normal Finnish Christmas dishes like rosolli (a light beet and vegetable pickle) and the traditional dessert of rice porridge.”

A new way to look at eating

For Lloyd Polack, a Helsinki chef who hails from the West Midlands in the UK and from the Caribbean, Christmas forms a time to be creative and offer more exotic European and Caribbean dishes. After training in the UK, Polack worked in continental hotels and restaurants before settling in Finland. He, too, got his start at Kasvis.

A freelance chef and caterer nowadays, Polack can indulge his creative culinary spirits, both at home and on the job. Leafing through old menus, he points out dishes that remain popular, including vegan banana muffins and ginger carrot and bean paté. “Christmas is a good time to be experimental while following the traditional patterns – people are looking for something special,” he declares.

At home he has learned how to extend his range to include some very local, but not so typical, traditional ingredients. “My mother-in-law is a real forager, so we have always had plenty of Finnish mushrooms, which I had to learn to use at Christmas, too. And I must admit, my sons Pablo and Daniel have been my main guinea pigs!”

Always proud to be known as being “clever with cakes,” Polack sees higher demand for biscuits and sweet desserts at Christmas. For him, it’s not enough to consider ethical and ecological issues only when preparing food – he also delivers by bicycle whenever possible. “With city traffic nowadays it’s often quicker in the centre to deliver by bike, but when the snow comes I leave it at home.”

So if you see delivery cyclist with a red hat wobbling through the streets of Helsinki this holiday season, it’s not Santa Claus. It’s another order of vegetarian Christmas goodies on the way to discerning customers.

By Anthony Shaw

The humble Number One: Finland

Life & society Society

Given that most Finns won’t blow their own horn – it’s culturally de rigueur to downplay personal achievements – we’re going to do some serious bragging.

If there’s one characteristic that applies to almost all Finns, it’s extreme modesty. Finns don’t boast about their own achievements; often they don’t even mention them. You might spend an entire evening at a dinner party socialising with someone – only to find out later that they hold a world championship title for downhill skiing, invented a key component of the mobile phone or have accomplished some other “minor” achievement.

World-class achievements

Finland, a small country of 5.3 million people, consistently tops many of the world’s best-of charts. In August 2010, Newsweek declared that Finland is the best country in the world. They based their conclusion on five criteria: health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. “Despite the long winter, Finland is a pretty great place to be – the best actually,” Newsweek wrote.

Photo: Anna Dammert

In December of 2007, Finland once again took the Number One spot in the OECD’s PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), a test of the abilities of a sample of 15-year-old secondary school students, followed by Hong Kong in second place and Canada in third. The PISA survey, based on tests carried out in 2006 in 57 countries that together account for nearly 90 per cent of world GDP, is the most comprehensive and rigorous international yardstick of secondary-school students’ attainments. The results of the 2009 PISA are announced in December 2010.

In 2006, when Finland hosted the EU presidency, Economist magazine described Finland as being “first in the World Economic Forum’s list of most competitive countries, second in its business-competitiveness index, first in the OECD’s world ranking of education performance; [and having the] second-highest share of R&D spending in the European Union,” while pointing out that the Nordic nation is reversing its demographic decline with one of the highest fertility rates in Europe.

You have our word

Finns are known for their honesty, and the country always places at or close to the top of the list of the world’s least corrupt countries, published annually by the Berlin-based organisation Transparency International.

Another strong point is technology. Finland’s mobile phone market is one of the world’s most developed. Ninety-eight percent of households have mobile phones. There are more mobile phones than fixed network subscriptions. It’s no surprise, then, that the world’s leading manufacturer of mobile devices, Nokia, was founded and is still headquartered in Finland. It’s estimated that 11 to 12 Nokia devices are sold every second.

A leader in internet use

Photo: Tekes/Pasi Hytti

Seventy-five percent of Finnish households own a personal computer, 70 percent have an internet connection and 62 percent broadband; 78 percent own a digital television.

Not only is Finland one of the leading countries in internet use, the Los Angeles Times wrote in June 2008 that Finland is the world’s safest internet country. Based on a study by anti-virus company McAfee, domains ending in “.fi” are the least likely to cause security problems for users.

Finland has also received accolades for its innovative use of the world wide web in its public library system, yet another area in which Finland holds world records. Finland has a literacy rate of 100 percent and the highest number of registered book borrowers per capita.

Quality of life

Finland has a high standard of living and one of the world’s best functioning welfare systems. Education and healthcare are virtually free and equality is not just a buzzword: Finland’s president (Tarja Halonen) and prime minister (Mari Kiviniemi) are women, and women ministers outnumber men in government, making Finland the most female-dominated government in the world.

Photo: Centre Party

Babies are well taken care of. In 2007, Finland’s infant mortality rate of 3.52 deaths for every 1,000 births was one of the lowest in the world according to the World Health Organisation. Paid maternity and paternity leaves are standard benefits, and organised childcare is largely paid for by the state.

On average, Finns are entitled to five weeks of paid holidays a year. And while they are avid travelers, many enjoy spending their holiday time in the Finnish archipelago, which is considered the biggest in the world when measured by the number of islands in it – more than 20,000. Finland is also known as “the land of a thousand lakes.” Actually, there are 187,888 lakes. The 338,000-square-kilometre country also has more islands than any other country in the world.

Forest covers 70 percent of Finland’s land area, the highest proportion in the world. It is not surprising that the country is one of the top exporters of forest products. In exports of paper and paperboard Finland is second in the world, after Canada. Many of the world’s eminent newspapers and magazines are produced on Finnish paper.

A few famous Finns

Finns have long excelled at sports, and set many world records in areas such as running, skiing and race car driving. In proportion to its population, Finland is the world’s second-most successful country in the Olympic medal statistics: from the Summer Olympics, Finland has taken home the most medals per capita. In motor racing, Kimi Räikkönen was the Formula One World Champion in 2007.

The arts scene is also generously represented by Finns. Among those well-known internationally are composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, currently the principal conductor and artistic advisor of the London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, and opera singers Monica Groop and Karita Mattila. Mattila’s appearance in Salome at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 2004 caused a sensation and her subsequent performance in Katya Kabanova garnered the following praise in the New York press: “When the history of the Metropolitan Opera….is written, Karita Mattila will deserve her own chapter.”

And that’s just the tip of the Finnish achievement iceberg. The list goes on, but naturally, as Finns, we’re too modest to continue.

By Katja Pantzar, June 2008, updated September 2010

Finnish traditions stay strong in the US

Christmas Christmas traditions

As Finns prepare for the holiday season, we visit the US to see how Finnish customs and Christmas traditions are enduring in small-town Minnesota.

In northern Minnesota, Finnish roots run deep. Finns began emigrating here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the lumber and mining industries were booming. A second wave of immigrants came to mining areas like the town of Virginia, Minnesota after the Second World War.

“Times were hard in Finland, and travel became available again,” says Eila Ivonen, who came to Minnesota in 1953 to meet her grandfather, who had arrived in 1913. She was planning to return to the University of Helsinki, where she had been admitted, but fell in love with an American and decided to stay. “That’s kind of the typical immigrant story,” Ivonen says. “Most of them intended to go back, but something happened.”

Centres of Finnish activity

Heather Surla (right) and her friends help themselves to Karelian pies and other delicacies at Kaleva Hall.Photo: Robert Downs

Finnish immigrants looked to assimilate while still preserving their heritage, and those that celebrated Finnish culture near Virginia did it through a place called Kaleva Hall.

The hall has been the centre of Finnish activity in Virginia for more than 100 years. Constructed in 1906 by the Finnish Temperance Society, the hall has acted as a boarding house, a dance hall, a gathering place for the Finnish socialist party and the site of Sunday services for the Unitarian Church (which was also founded by Finns).

The hall was especially important to those who spoke little English. Plays and dances routinely filled its stage, and throughout the 20th century it remained a place to socialise, read or spend a Saturday night.

“My mother wants on her gravestone with my father: ‘They danced a thousand miles,’” says Belinda Brunfelt, a third-generation Finn. “When I was a child, there were Finnish dances here every weekend.”

Now, second- and third-generation Finns are carrying on the practices that their elders taught them. While it gets harder with every generation to pass traditions on, many Finnish descendants are making sure their customs continue. Kaleva Hall forms a home for the local chapter of the Knights and Ladies of Kaleva, a Finnish American service and social organisation.

Holiday traditions

Third-generation Finnish American Belinda Brunfelt, shown here playing the kantele, says, “When I was a child, there were Finnish dances here every weekend.”Photo: Robert Downs

Up north, the Christmas season officially begins with a ceremony at Kaleva Hall, where a man dressed as the mayor of Turku reads the proclamation of Christmas Peace – in both Finnish and English. This mirrors the official declaration ceremony, which happens in Turku on Christmas Eve Day.

On Christmas Eve, graveyards are illuminated by the glow of candles wrapped in bowls of carved ice. Revellers freeze buckets of water until almost completely solid, then dump the remaining liquid from the middle. Candles are placed inside the hollow ice bowl and the flickering orbs illuminate the cemeteries.

Some try to read their own fortune on New Year’s Eve. In a ladle they melt a bit of tin, lower the hot liquid it into water and interpret the metal shapes that emerge from the incompatible mixture as the tin instantly cools and solidifies. The Ladies of Kaleva see their glasses of murky water half full: “Our futures are always bright,” Ivonen says.

The art of being Finnish

Sharon Panula demonstrates the craft of “lastu,” in which special-ordered pieces of wood from Finland are soaked, cut and shaped into ornaments.Photo: Robert Downs

Sharon Panula is a full-blooded Finnish American, and practices the art of lastu, or wood shaving. She makes mobiles out of special strapping ordered from Finland, soaking the wood in warm water until it is pliable enough to be shaped. Panula sells her beautiful hanging creations at craft sales to benefit the Ladies of Kaleva.

Belinda Brunfelt plays the Finnish national instrument, the kantele, best described as a type of zither or harp. Her collection of kanteles isn’t limited to just her five-, 10- and 15-string models – she also owns a 39-string chromatic concert kantele. She special-orders strings from Finland to keep her instruments sounding good. “The concert kantele is pretty darn hard to play,” she says after plucking a melancholy tune.

Finnish American recipes

We asked Heather Surla and her Finnish American friends in Virginia, Minnesota for a couple of their favourite recipes for Christmastime or other times of year. (For more see thisisFINLAND’s Christmas Cuisine page)

Ruth’s Pulla (pastry)

Makes 8 loaves of a traditional bready pastry – recipe may be halved or quartered for smaller batches.

4 cups (9.5 dl) milk, scalded
2 cups (4.5 dl) sugar
4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon cardamom – measured, then ground
1 1/4 cup (3 dl) oleo (margarine suitable for baking)
4 tablespoons yeast
16–18 cups (38–42.5 dl) bread flour
4 eggs, beaten

Measure sugar, salt and cardamom into large bowl. Add scalded milk. While the mixture cools, mix yeast into a half cup warm water with 1 teaspoon sugar.

Melt oleo. Add beaten eggs to milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer. Add yeast and 8 cups flour to milk and egg mixture. Let rest five minutes. Add half of melted oleo. Beat.

Add 8 cups of flour by hand. Add remaining melted oleo. Knead 5–8 minutes. Cover and let rise for 90 minutes in warm place. Punch down. Let rise 30 minutes.

Grease eight nine-by-four-inch loaf pans. Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll and braid into 8 loaves. Put in pans, let rise until dough reaches top of pans.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) for 25–30 minutes. While cooling on rack, brush with mixture of hot coffee and sugar. Sprinkle with sugar. May be frozen. Great toasted.

Karjalanpaisti (Karelian Three-Meat Stew)

1 pound (450 g) beef, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
1 pound (450 g) lamb, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
1 pound (450 g) pork, cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes
5 medium onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1–2 bay leaves

In large, heavy casserole with a lid, layer meats with the onion, salt and allspice. Top with the bay leaves. Cover tightly and bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) for five hours.

The meat will be very tender and will stew in its own juices. It is not necessary to add other broth or juice to the meat unless the dish is not well covered.

Remove bay leaves before serving. This broth is traditionally not thickened. Serve over boiled new potatoes.

By Robert Downs, November 2011

Alternative Christmas gifts on the rise

Christmas Modern Christmas

Instead of buying conventional gifts for friends whose homes are already crammed with stuff, generous but practical Finns are increasingly sending useful or even life-saving gifts to people in need, through charitable schemes.

One such scheme is FinnChurchAid’s Alternative Gifts. “Last year donations totalled 1.4 million euros, with over half coming around Christmastime,” explains coordinator Else Hukkanen.

Popular gifts include goats (30 euros), school uniforms (8 euros), donations to a Women’s Bank supporting women’s livelihoods (20 euros), potentially life-saving medical packages (20 euros) and fruit-tree seedlings (18 euros). Donors receive cards or e-cards to send on to their friends informing them that a donation has been made on their behalf to provide a practical gift to someone who will truly benefit from such seasonal generosity.

FinnChurchAid distributes gifts among families in impoverished communities in countries such as Haiti, Cambodia and Somalia. “Of course we don’t ship gifts all the way from Finland, since purchasing them locally saves on transport costs and benefits local economies,” adds Hukkanen.

Gifts with a practical purpose

World Vision Finland runs the similar Ethical Gifts scheme. “Gifts go to communities in Kenya, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Peru, Columbia and India,” says communications officer Anna Pollari.

“Our gift catalogue selection is based on current needs in the villages and cities where we work. Local communities and our staff together assess what kinds of gifts are needed to create lasting, positive changes in the lives of children and families. Gifts ranging from cows (400 euros) to children’s library books (20 euros) are purchased locally, and the community decides where they are needed most.”

Pollari believes such presents triple the joy of giving, bringing pleasure to the person who pays for the gift, the person on whose behalf it is sent, and the child who receives the gift in a developing country. “Even small gifts can profoundly change someone’s life,” she says. “One young man called James from one of Nairobi’s slums, who received an ethical gift of vocational training worth 150 euros some time ago, owns a mobile phone and computer repair shop today. He’s now returning the favour by training other local youngsters.”

Give someone a toilet this season

The Global Dry Toilet Association of Finland is asking donors to contribute 50 euros on behalf of a friend towards the cost of building compost toilets and providing hygiene education to alleviate sanitation problems in poor communities. “So far we’ve completed 160 toilet blocks for schools and villages in Zambia and Swaziland where people previously used open pits that can spread diarrhea and cholera,” explains project coordinator Sari Huuhtanen.

“The toilets are made with local materials and labour, but since dry compost toilets are widely used in Finland, we can contribute practical ideas on toilet design and the use of the resulting organic fertiliser, as well as funding obtained from private donors and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,” she says.

“Christmas is when people most think of giving charitably, so we get most of our one-off donations then, to add to regular support from our ‘toilet godparent’ donors,” says Huuhtanen. Gift recipients receive initial e-cards explaining how the sum donated on their behalf will be spent, followed by progress updates later.

The organisers of these charitable schemes all emphasise that such gifts are much more gratifying than another knick-knack that will probably only gather dust in a cluttered cupboard.
By Fran Weaver, December 2011

Newsweek: Finland is best in the world

Life & society Society

Newsweek poses a “simple yet elusive” question: With the whole world to choose from, what is the best place to live? The answer is a resounding “Finland!”

The editors of Newsweek draw their conclusion based on five criteria: health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. “Despite the long winter, Finland is a pretty great place to be – the best actually.”

Not only does Finland rank first overall, it’s also the best small country, the best high-income country and, last but certainly not least, the best country for education. A related Newsweek article, released in connection with the World’s Best Countries rankings, sums up education success stories from the countries that scored best.

Snuggle up

Living in Finland is like winning the lottery. So take out your dancing shoes, it’s time to celebrate the best country in the world!© City of Helsinki, Tourist & Convention Bureau

In another related piece, journalist Andrei Codrescu ponders why “cold” and “small” nations (in other words Nordic countries) always receive such high marks in studies like this. Finland is number one, Sweden number three, Norway six and Denmark ten.

“Quality of life improves immensely when one must get as close to one’s beloved as possible to fend off the chill,” Codrescu ventures. With tongue still in cheek, he suggests that the political environment is civilised because “it’s too cold to fight in the streets.”

Although Codrescu’s musings are amusing, we’d also direct you to a page entitled “How we ranked the world” where you can examine the methods and weighting Newsweek used to arrive at the final rankings. It lends statistical clout to a certain phrase that Finns are fond of repeating to show that they know how lucky they are: “Being born in Finland is like winning the lottery.”

By Peter Marten, August 2010

Learning to love Christmas Peace in Finland

Christmas Christmas traditions

An American learns what the Finnish concept of Christmas Peace means, in the process discovering many ways of celebrating the holidays in Finland.

Coming from the US, a country where shops, restaurants and entertainment centres are open during Christmas, my first Finnish Christmas was a culture shock to say the least. When Christmas Peace is declared, they really mean it. At noon on Christmas Eve, Christmas Peace is officially proclaimed in a ceremony in Turku, a tradition dating back to the 1300s. Many Finns watch the event on TV as the bells of Turku Cathedral ring.

Student Christmas

2552-christmas_setting_1717visitfinland_550-jpg

For many, the smells of gingerbread and star-shaped pastries bring back a flood of Christmas memories.Photo: Visitfinland

Back in 1982, my fellow foreign students and I were discussing what we would do on Christmas Eve. In those days, all public transportation stopped in the afternoon, and all shops, restaurants and businesses were closed. Fortunately, a group of Finnish students took us in their cars to an apartment in Espoo, outside Helsinki. Paul from Texas brought burritos, Georgi from Bulgaria brought wine, Adriana from Italy brought pasta, and I brought a “California salad” that I put together from leftovers I found in my fridge.

The Finns brought some traditional Christmas casseroles and voilà, we had our own feast. Georgi played the guitar, the Finns taught us some of their Christmas songs, and we had a lively discussion until late into the night. “That was certainly unselfish of you to give up your family Christmas for us,” Paul said. “Well, it wasn’t completely unselfish,” replied Timo. “We were just happy for an excuse to get away from the family for a while.”

Friendly Christmas

Warm windows: It can be fun to admire everyone’s Christmas decorations and imagine the celebrations going on inside people’s houses.Photo: Jani Koskinen/Lehtikuva

The next few Christmases I spent with a friend or two. We would warm up smoked turkey and a few other goodies, drink a bit of Christmas cheer and take a long walk. It was amusing the see all the Christmas decorations and look in through the windows at the family gatherings. Actually, we were a bit envious.

One year I noticed that a couple of restaurants were opening their doors for Christmas Eve. I hadn’t anything special to do that night, so I wandered into one of these watering holes. I think there is nothing more pathetic than being alone in a bar at this special time, so I went home after just one hour. However, the next year a couple of friends joined me and we found a pub with live music, and then went to a restaurant with dancing and late night meals. It was a pleasant evening, but something seemed to be missing.

Family Christmas

2552-winterdream_1716-visitfinland_550-jpg

Those lucky enough to have a country cottage may retreat there for the duration of the holidays.Photo: Visitfinland

After I got married and had kids, things changed. I was now the person I had seen through the windows earlier when taking Christmas strolls. Now I was sending postcards, buying gifts, picking out a tree, hanging decorations, organising the menu, putting on the holiday music, playing seasonal games and making Christmas goodies with the kids.

Christmas Eves were often spent at the in-laws house in the countryside, where a proper Christmas sauna was waiting. A real Christmas table would be set, with a rosolli salad (made from beets, not bad), various root casseroles (a little is enough), lutefisk (not really food), rice porridge (boring), freshly smoked ham (terrific), fish roe (yes), herring (tasty), home beer (it’s not actually alcoholic) and fruit compote (it’s edible). After the meal we’d take a walk in the forest so we had room for more food.

A hired Santa would later emerge to give the kids their presents. Then Christmas carols would be sung – mostly out of tune. After that followed the tradition of going to the graveyard and lighting candles at relatives’ graves (even when it was minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 13 Fahrenheit). Later we cleaned up, had another sauna, watched special Christmas programmes, played cards, discussed nonsense and enjoyed strong Christmas drinks.

Those were interesting times, but now, I’m divorced and usually celebrate Christmas with my daughter. We don’t go to a huge amount of trouble decorating or making heavy meals – we do just as much as we like. And I enjoy that. Perhaps now I have learned the meaning of Christmas Peace.

By Russel Snyder

Tag: English