Author: Chiara

Sámi people: who are they?

The indigenous people of North Scandinavia & 6th February

February 6th is, other than my birthday, Sámi people’s National Day.

The Sámi – also spelled Saami – are an indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses large northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The Sámi have historically been known as Lapps or Laplanders, but these terms are usually regarded as offensive. There are about 100,000 Sámi people, divided by the borders of 4 states: Norway (ca. 60.000), Sweden (30.000), Finland (8.000) and Russia (2.000).

The Sami have their own history, languages, and maintain a strong cultural identity while being citizens of their countries.
One of the most typical traits of Sami culture is the central role of reindeers: around 10% of Sámi practice reindeer herding nowadays, which in some parts of the Nordic countries can be practiced only by Sámis.

Sami symbols and culture

The Sami traditional clothing, gákti/gapta/gábdde in Sami languages, kofte/kolt in Norwegian and Swedish, is well dinstinguished from Norwegian bunads and Swedish national dresses. It is worn at important occasions and varies depending on the gender, family, area one is from and status. Important parts of Sami culture are Sami handicrafts, known as duodji, which include accessories and clothing.

The colors found in Sami clothing inspired the Sámi flag – designed by Astrid Båhl, from Skibotn, Norway, and approved by the Nordic Sámi Council in 1986. The circle is a symbol for the sun (red) and the moon (blue), emphasizing Sami people’s connection to nature.

Another unique cultural element is the Yoik (or jojk), a traditional song-chant, with different functions, and can be about each other, places and animals. it is however inappropriate to sing a yoik about oneself, as this would be a form of self-flattery. Sami national jojk is Sámi eatnan duoddariid by Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, who modernised the yoik tradition. A famous example of yoik is Daniels jojk by Jon Henrik, a yoik tied to his late friend, which was sung at tv-show Sweden’s got talent.

What language do Sami people speak?

If you want to know in detail about various languages Sami people have spoken read my article about Sami languages . There is no single Sámi language, but a group of around 10 distinct Sámi languages which belong to the Ugro-Finnic language family (as Finnish and Estonian). Sami languages are relatively closely related, but not mutually intelligible to each other. North Sámi is the most widely used language and is spoken in all the four countries.

The majority of the Sámi now speak the majority languages of the countries they live in and all Sámi languages are at some degree of endangerment. Sámi languages had been illegal for centuries in Sweden and Norway, with assimilation policies and special residential schools (similarly to what happened in North America with indigenous people). This led to Sámi parents themselves to not speak Sámi to their children as a way to protect them. Since the late 20th century, the Sámi have the right to education in their own languages.

Sámi movie, book, music

  • the movie Sameblod, or Same Blood in English (2016), directed my Amanda Kernell. It is set in Sweden in the 1930s and concerns a 14-year-old girl who experiences prejudice at a nomad school for Sami children, and decides to escape her town and disavow her Sami heritage. Parts of the story are inspired by Kernell’s own grandmother.
  • books by Ann-Elen Laestadius: Stöld (stolen is the English title- with a Netflix adaption from 2021 as well), Straff (punished in English)
  • Sami singers: Jarnna (their Nilas jojk was my favourite song to calm down in an incredibl stressing period), Jon Henrik, Elin Oskal

History of Sámi people

  • 11,000-5,000 b.C. -first traces of people in Sapmi, inner Norrland. 1,500 b.C – reindeer ski dating back to this time. sijda communities were formed, several families who work and hunt together.

Mentions of Sami people in ancient times:

98 a.D. – the Roman historian Tacitus talks about a people called Fenni in his Germania. Finns used to be a synonym for Sami. 550 a.D – the bizantine historian Procopius tells about various peoples in Scandinavia. the Scraerefenni went on skis, wore animal skins and give the babies marrow to suck on. Both men and women hunt. 900 a.D- Icelandic Viking tales tell about the skin trade with the Sami and how the Sami and other nordic peoples deal with each other.

1300-1600 religious missions and colonisation

Early 1300s – Swedish kings encourage colonisation of lands to the north of Hälsingland, Sami people are taxed. 1389 – The Archbishop of Uppsala is urged by Queen Margaret to serve a mission in Lapland, because she believes that the Sami need a Christian faith. 1606 – King Charles IX calls himself King of the Lapps. He decides that church and market places should be established in the Lapland. 1685-1693 – Charles XI of Sweden orders magistrates’ councils to examine the Sami idolatry. The Sami religion shall be destroyed. in 1700s the biologist Linnaeus travelled to Lapland, and mentioned that when a Sami refused to hand over religious objects such as magic drums to the missionaries, they would hold him down while they cut open the large artery in his arm, and made him bleed until he obeyed – a procedure that, according to Linnaeus, ‘often succeeded’.”

1700-1900 systematic discrimination

  • 1723 och 1732 – it is prohibited for Sami people to enter territories to the south of Lappmarken in Sweden, with the policy Lapp skall vara Lapp (Lapp shall be lapp), 1860s – Systematic Norwegianization, Socialdarwinism, Sami people considered inferior. Measures against Sami languages. 1902 – Law in Finnmark that prevented from selling land to those who did not speak Norwegian.

20th century – Rights given to Sámi people

  • 1917 – On 6th February the first Sami national congress took place in Trondheim, Norway. This was the first time that Norwegian and Swedish Sámi came together to solve common problems. On this day Sami national day is celebrated in all of Sami lands since 1992.
  • 1977 -The Swedish Parliament confirms that the Sami are an indigenous people in Sweden.
  • Sami parliaments: 1989 Sametinget in Norway; 1992 Sametinget in Sweden. In Finland a Sami delegation had already been formed in 1971, turned into a parliament in 1996
  • 2000 – The first Swedish Sami language law. Sami are given the right to use Sami languages in contact with authorities and courts, child and elderly care has to be accessible in Sami languages.

Sources :

  • Samiskeveivisere.no – Samer og nordmenn i Norge – Samiske Veivisere
  • Store Norske Leksikon – snl.no/samer
  • sametinget.no
  • samer.se
  • YLE’s Say it in Saami quick guide to Saami culture

the MOOMINS

The Moomins, created by Tove Jansson, are the most famous and beloved Finnish characters, First appeared in books, then animated series. Still immensely popular in the Nordic region and Japan, they are feature in countless merchandise items, especially mugs!

The Moomins are a family of hippo-looking characters, created by Swedish-speaking Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson, who created Moomins during the Second World War, as ‘an escape from reality in a fairytale world’. Moomins are still incredibly popular in Nordic countries, and are often used as a Finnish cultural symbol.

moomin books mug tissues

Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated several books and strips between 1945 and 1980, which got translated into 38 languages.
The first animated series is from 1969, but the most popular is from the 90s, and the most recent is from the 2020s.
Other series were made with puppets and cutouts. and there’s even a Moomin opera! Here’s the Moomin timeline.

Moomin Characters

The core family of the moomins is Moomin himself muumipeikko in Finnish, and his parents, Moominmamma and Moominpappa, live in their iconic cylindric blue house (for a while they lived in a lighthouse and a theatre too). But the ‘family’ is not limited to them, and has incorporated other members:

Moomin Pixel art I made!
  • the fearful Sniff
  • the naughty Little My, who teaches that being angry is okay too, sometimes.
  • Moomintroll’s girlfriend Snork Maiden,
  • the vagabond and freedom lover Snufkin, an artist soul,connected to a typical Finnish feeling of melancholy and solitude

Other characters who often appear are:

  • the bossy and stubborn Hemulens and the anxious Fillyjonk, representing the petty bourgeoisie of the time when Tove invented the Moomin world
  • the wise and pragmatic Too-Ticky,
  • Mymla, Little My’s big sister.
  • To the east borders of Moomin Valley there are lonely mountains (Ensliga Bergen), a mysteryous place where the monster Groke lives, who freezes everything she walks on and is hard to communicate with.

Many characters are actually invented after people from Tove Jansson’s life, as her parents , Too Ticky – her partner Tuulikki Pietilä.

Letters i decorated with Moomin art.

Life in the peaceful Moomin world is often about enjoying small pleasures, as Moomin says:

I only want to live in peace and plant potatoes and dream!‘

‘One can’t be too dangerous, if they like to eat pancakes. Especially with jam on it’.

Moomin in Finland

Moomins are still incredibly popular and easy to find in Finland: on Fazer candy and cookies, on finnish postage stamps (since 1988)… but the most classic item to own is probably moomin mugs: produced by Arabia since the 1950s.
You can even fly on a Moomin FINNAIR plane, which of course fly to Japan.

moomin mugs shop
moomin fazer candy

Most Finns (and maybe Swedes or other Nordic peoples as well) have some kind of Moomin object. Even the former Finnish President Tarja Halonen has been known to wear a Moomin watch!

spot the moomins inside this Swedish house!

If you travel to Finland, you can also visit some Moomin-themed attractions:

  • Moomin World theme park (in Finnish Muumimaailma) in Naantali, near Turku, in 1993.
  • Tampere Art Museum has a Moomin section: Muumimuseo, which contains around 2000 original works of Tove Jansson, including a model of the Moominhouse, which Tove Jansson contributed to build.
  • Moomin ice cave is a 30 meters below of a Spa Hotel near Kuopio, it includes Moomin-themed ice sculptures, and offers activities for families with children.

Moomin shops, cafes and attractions in the world

The real Moomin Boom started in the 1990s, with the Japanese animated series Tales From Moominvalley. Moomin books were already bestsellers in Nordic and Baltic countries, but the animation made Moomin extremely popular in Japan among others.

Japan has a Moomin-themed park since 2015: MoominValley Park, in the prefecture of Saitama, near Tokyo.

Besides Moomin shops in Nordic countries (I have been in the Gothenburg one, Sweden), there are quite a few in Asia (most in Japan, but also Korea, Thailand, China and Hong Kong), and there is one in the USA, but not NYC or LA – in Hawaii! Not surprisingly due to the Japanese tourists…

lamp and glass bought in Gothenburg, Sweden
Moomin corner of ArOS art museum in Aarhus, Denmark.
moomin gacha gacha japan
Japanese gacha-gacha moomin!

Moomin themed-cafes are very popular in East Asian countries: other than in Finland various pop-up cafes have appeared now and then in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan.
You could eat a moomin shaped meal in front of a giant moomin character plush there! Moomin Cafes.

You can check out all currently open Moomin shops, attractions and cafes on Moomin official website.

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7 fun facts about Lucia, Sweden’s pagan saint

Lucia brings light in the darkest night of the year and is a mix of pagan and christian traditions. It is celebrated in Scandinavia with processions, saffron buns and church concerts.

Chiara's avatar by Chiara

Puffins: Iceland & Faroe’s mascot

The lovely sea parrot living around the North Atlantic coasts, symbol of Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), Lundi in Icelandic and Faroese, is a species of seabird in the auk family. The Atlantic puffin moves to North Atlantic coasts in summer and breeds in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland and Orkney Islands, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and Labrador, and as far south as Maine in the west and Britain in the east. More than 90% of the global population is found in Europe  and colonies in Iceland alone are home to 60% of the world’s Atlantic puffins, in particular Westman islands (Vestmannaeyjar).

Cutouts from magazines, I can’t resist to puffin pictures!

The generic name Fratercula comes from the Medieval Latin fratercula, “friar”, a reference to the black and white plumage which resembles monastic robes. The vernacular name “puffin” comes from puffed in the sense of swollen. The striking appearance, large colourful bill, waddling gait, and behaviour of this bird have given rise to nicknames such as “clown of the sea” and “sea parrot”.

The beak is the most distinctive feature. From the side, it is broad and triangular, but viewed from above, it is narrow. The half near the tip is orange-red, yellow, and blue-greyish. A puffin beak can contain 12 up to 18 fish at once! The Atlantic puffin is sturdily built with a thick-set neck and short wings and tail. It is about 30 cm and weighs 400-600 g.

Traditions in Iceland and Faroe Islands

A tradition exists on the Icelandic island of Heimaey (part of Westman islands) for the children to rescue young puffins, a fact recorded in Bruce McMillan’s photo-illustrated children’s book Nights of the Pufflings (1995). The fledglings emerge from the nest and try to make their way to the sea, but sometimes get confused, perhaps by the street lighting, ending up by landing in the village. The children collect them and liberate them to the safety of the sea.

Palli the Puffin greeting travellers coming to Iceland in Reykjavik airport (picture by Mundi Lundi, page about a puffin who was found injured in the Icelandic capital and the nursed back to health)
Faroe islands 1978 postal stamp by Holger Philipsen

Puffins have been hunted by man since time immemorial, coastal communities and island dwellers with few natural resources at their disposal didn’t have much else to hunt besides fish and seabirds.

They are still caught and eaten in Iceland and the Faroe Islands A typical device used in the Faroes to catch them was a fleyg. This was a long pole with a neton the end. a skilled hunter could gather 200–300 in a day!

Puffins in logos and symbols

  • The Norwegian island municipality of Værøy, part of the Lofoten, has an Atlantic puffin as its civic emblem.
  • the name of the island of Lundy (UK) might come from Norse lund-ey or “puffin island”. The Vikings might have found the island a useful refuge and restocking point after their depredations on the mainland . The island issued its own coins, and in 1929, its own stamps with denominations in “puffins”.
  • The paperbook publisher Penguin Books introduced a range of books for children under the Puffin Books brand in 1939. The demand was so great that a children’s magazine called Puffin Post was established, Puffin Post.

Puffin characters in pop culture

  • The Swan Princess -Puffin
  •  Madagascar – Hans
  • Happy Feet 2 – Sven is a puffin who pretends to be a penguin
  • Puffin Rock – A Netflix original cartoon about the puffin Oona and her little brother Baba

Icelandic and Faroese mascotte in the world

Puffins are often used to promote these Nordic islands, ICELAND MARKET in Nagoya, Japan, still has puffins in its logo and gadgets in what used to be its cafe, proudly representing Iceland.

FRAMTAK, a Faroese site, now inactive, promotes the Nordic archipelago and has a section with comics about Ludvík Lundi (“the puffin with glasses”), ideal if you want to practice Faroese!

Puffins in danger

In most countries, Atlantic puffins are now protected by legislation, and in the countries where hunting is still permitted, strict laws prevent overexploitation, but calls have been made for an outright ban on hunting them in Iceland because of concern over the rapid and ongoing population decline in its European range especially since 2000. In 2015, the status of this species was upgraded from “least concern” to “vulnerable”.  Some of the causes of population decline may be increased predation by gulls and skuas, the introduction of rats, cats, dogs, and foxes onto some islands used for nesting, contamination by toxic residues, drowning in fishing nets, and climate change.  Based on current trends, the European population will decline an estimated 50–79% between 2000 and 2065.

More articles:

Nordic findings in japan

Nordic culture experienced in Japan: Moomins, Dala horse stationery, Nordic-inspired foods and books about Scandinavia seen by the Japanese.

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How Nordic are Baltic countries

Are Baltic countries Nordic at all? I explored Latvia and Estonia, noting their ties to Nordic culture, from languages to Rye bread and Midsummer.

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Scandinavian Christmas: symbols, sweets and gift bringers

Nordic Christmas, or Yule, means among others flag tree decorations, a pinwheel-shaped pastry, and gnomes.

Nordic countries share quite a lot Christmas customs and symbols, whether it is Christmas tree decorations, gnomes and elves instead of Santa Claus, and of course spiced cookies. Let’s see what a Scandinavian Christmas looks like!

1. Scandinavian Santa Claus: Gnomes and pixies

In Sweden and Norway it is a Santa Claus-like gnome bringing presents: Jultomte in Sweden and Julenisse. According to the tradition it lives in farms and takes care of the household while the family is sleeping, Bringing presents if the family treated him and the farm animals well. In Norway, an adult disguises himself as Julenisse and gives out presents to children, often greeting them by saying Er det noen snille barn her? (“is there any good child here?”).

In Denmark Julemanden (literally Christmas man) arrives on a sleigh with reindeers and has elves as helpers, Julenisser or just Nisser, who are believed to live in barns and attics. Children leave rice pudding for the Nisser, who find it delicious accoring to popular belief. In the Faroe islands it is called Jólamaðurin.

Initially the gift bringer was the Julbocken/Julebukk goat mentioned above, so in Finnish Santa Claus is called Joulupukki…

2. Christmas Decorations: straw goats, pleated hearts and flags

Yule Goat: A common Christmas symbol and decoration is a straw goat, Julbocken/Julebukk, often put under the Christmas tree. It goes back to the Viking times and it was a household protector, representing Thor’s magical goats, who lead him in the night sky. Bigger versions can be found in town centres – this tradition started in the Swedish town of Gävle in the 60s, and every year this traditions is repeated with a Julbock as tall as around 10 metres.

Things to hang on the tree

Julehjerter are pleated hearts, very common and in Denmark and Norway (Norwegians call them Juletrekurv “Christmas tree baskets”), but also present in other Nordic countries as a typical Christmas symbol. Children make them with their family with paper of different colours, although they are often red and white.

Flag garlands: Decorating Christmas trees with flags originated in Denmark and it can be seen in all Nordic countries, although it was more common in the mid-20th Century. A survey showed that one in three Norwegians thinks flag garlands are suitable Christmas tree decorations, while only 3 % and 5 % is of the same opinion in Sweden and Finland. Nonetheless, I bought a Christmas tree flag ornament in Sweden…

3. Christmas treats: spiced cookies to rice porridge

  • Baking gingerbread cookies is a typical Christmas time family activity: Pepparkakor in Swedish, Pepperkaker in Norwegian and Peberkager in Danish, piparkakut in Finnish.
  • Hiding an almond in rice porridge with a prize for who finds it is a common things in Nordic countries. in Sweden the rice pudding is called risgrysgröt. In Denmark you have the Risalamande (from French ris à l’amande, just because French sounded fancy), It is served cold with a warm cherry sauce, kirsebærsovs. The lucky person who finds the entire almond in it wins a marzipan pig!
  • Lussekatter are Swedish saffron pastries, typically eaten for Lucia.
  • Joulutorttu, a Finnish pastry filled with plum or apple jam.
  • Æbleskiver are Danish fried snacks, round and often served with jam and powder sugar. The name literally means “apple slices”, although apples are usually not an ingredient!
  • Kransekake, Norwegian and Danish almond cookie rings, commonly eaten on festive occasions.

Mulled wine, glögg, is a classic, with spices as cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, but you can also drink Chistmas beer! It is darker and spicier than the usual ones.

God Jul!

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velkommen, välkommen, tervetuloa, velkomin

Why I started this blog and what I will do with it

    I am Chiara B., 22, I opened this blog as a university project, choosing as topic one of my passions: Nordic cultures, uniting them with my illustrations. Ever since i was a child i have always had a fascination for North Europe, to the point that I started to self study Swedish when i was 19 in my last school year, after having studied other 3 foreign languages for 5 years. I did not know much more than the average person about Nordic cultures at the time, just about Pippi, IKEA, and Danish cookies and a couple words.

    sketch done with markers

    While learning Swedish I also got closer to the culture, as it is natural to do, and I recently started dabbling in Danish and Norwegian as well. One of the few perks of the pandemic was having the time to start studying Icelandic and Finnish, despite having a long way to go I definitely cherish doing this! I will use this blog to write about traditions, places and iconic things of Nordic countries i learned about throughout the years, making an illustration everytime!

    NU KÖR VI! (Here we go!)