Culture, languages and lifestyle of Nordic countries
Category: Culture
Traditions, food, typical things and iconic objects from Nordic cultures. How Scandinavians celebrate Christmas, Midsummer, Birthdays and graduation among others.
Days on which the Finnish language, suomenkieli, and culture is celebrated in Finland, on birthdays of Finnish poets and artists
Finland celebrates its language and culture during special days chosen for birthdays of Poets and artists. Most are flag days in the country, on which the Finnish flag Siniristilippu(“blue cross flag”) shall fly.
Runeberg day – 5 February
In Finnish Runebergin päivä, it is the birthday of the national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877). The highlight of the celebration is eating Runeberg’s torte (Finnish: Runebergintorttu; Swedish: Runebergstårta).
Runeberg lived in Porvoo/Borgå and although he is considered the national poet of Finland, he only wrote in Swedish! His Vårt land (“Our Land”, Maamme in Finnish) became an unofficial Finnish national anthem.
Runeberg ate the torte now carrying his name everyday, baked by his wife Fredrika. it is an almond and rum flavoured pastry with raspberry jam, and a ring of icing on top. You can find it in shops from the beginning of January until 5 February. The exception to this is Runeberg’s hometown Porvoo, where you can enjoy the torte the whole year round!
Kalevala day – 28 February
InFinnish Kalevalan päivä, it also known as Finnish Culture Day because of the central role Kalevala has as the national epic of Finland and Karelia. EliasLönnrot (1802 – 1884), a Finnish physician and philologist, compiled it in the 19th century by collecting traditional Finnic oral folklore in Finland, Karelia, the Kola Peninsula and the Baltic countries.
Kalevala means land of Kaleva, and its main character is Väinämöinen, a sort of godlike shaman with a magical voice, and it tells about the hero’s search for a wife.
As a symbol of Finnish culture and history, Kalevala has inspired many Finnish artists, among others the classical composer Jean Sibelius and the painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela.
A. Gallen Kallela, Aino Myth, Triptych, 1891
Something as old and quintessentially Finnish can be described as kalevalainen “Kalevala-esque”!
Finnish Language day – 9 April
On 9 April Mikael Agricola, the “father of literary Finnish” died, and Elias Lönnrot was born. For this reason it is celebrated as Finnish language day, suomen kielen päivä.
While the previously mentioned Elias Lönnrot compiled the Kalevala, Mikael Agricola was a Bishop and scholar who created Finnish as a written language in the 1500s, with all its lovely double vowels.
Agricola’s role for the Finnish language was similar to that of Luther for German. Both translated the bible into their people’s language. He did that with other Finns while living in Wittenberg, Luther’s town. Agricola also wrote theAbckiria (ABC Book), the first piece of literature in Finnish.
Other important days for Finnish culture
3 February – Day of Finnish architecture and design, Arkkitehtuurin ja muotoilun päiviä. It is the birthday of Alvar Aalto
12 may – Day of Finnish Identity, suomalaisuuden päivä, birthday of the statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman
9 August – Tove Jansson day, Since 2020 this day, Tove Jansson’s birthday, is a flag day in Finland, celebrating Finnish art. Tove Jansson was a painter and illustrator, most known as the creator of Moomintrolls. Her novels and other written work have been translated into more than 50 languages
8 December – John Sibeliusday, Birthday Jean Sibeliuksen päivä/ also day of Finnish music
In Utrecht, the cafe Broodnodig serves Swedish pastries and cakes as cinnamon and cardamom buns, kladdkaka, smulpaj and Scandinavian seasonal treats as semlor and saffron buns.
Fika is a cherished Swedish tradition involving a coffee and cake break. Discover various Fika treats, from classic kanelbullar (cinnamon buns), cakes and cookies to savory options.
Discover Faroese – today spoken by about 80,000 people in the North Sea archipelago- as Icelandic still has much in common with Old Norse in grammar and vocabulary
cinnamon buns, waffles, semlor and more: there is a special day dedicated to each in Sweden
Swedes have a few days dedicated to eating a specific thing. Whether it started to honour a king or just as an excuse to bake, mark these days on your calendar!
Semlor: February/March – Fettisdagen
On Shrove/fat Tuesday (fettisdagen), between January and February, tons of of semlor are purchased in Sweden. A semla is a cardamom-spiced bun with almond paste and whipped cream – traditionally conceived as a rich treat to enjoy before Lent. Slightly different versions of semlor exist in the other Nordic countries too, and they are usually eaten on Shrove Monday or Sunday instead: Fastelavnboller in Denmark/Norway, Bollur in Iceland, laskiaispulla in Finland.
Prinsesstårta: first Thursday of March (Småland)- Fössta Tössdan i Mass
in Småland region accent, R’s are not really pronunced. first Thursday of March, Fössta Tössdan i Mass, is celebrated with the famous green massipantåta, marzipan cake, also known as Princess cake!
There was an attempt to make a Skåne version of this: people from Skåne have a tungrots-R, a Danish (or typical French, German) R, not rolling as most Swedes. So fjäRde fRedag i febRuaRi (4th Friday of February) was celebrated with a rollcake, RulltåRta, by Anna Gartz of Café Smulan in Brösarp.
Waffles: 25 March – Våffeldagen
The christian feast of the Annunciation, in Swedish Vårfrudagen, lit. “Our Lady’s Day”, ended up becoming for most Swedes the similar-sounding våffeldagen (“waffle day”). This turned a religious day into a chance to eat heart-shaped waffles! It is also ”observed” In Norway and Denmark!
Cinnamon buns: 4 October – Kanelbullensdagen
Cinnamon bun day has been celebrated since 1999, and it was actually invented for commercial reasons: the person who made it up, Kaeth Gardestedt, was at the time working for an association of baking products producers. After almost 25 years people still bake cinnamon bunson 4th October!
Gustav Adolf pastry: 6 November – Gustav Adolfsdagen
6th November is the date of the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf’s death in 1632. The king was very generous with universities as the one of Gothenburg, where a pastry was invented in his remembrance: Gustav Adolfsbakelse. It has been popular since the late 1800s. You can see it in a lot of variations, but what makes it a Gustav Adolf pastry is the chocolate bust of the king on top!
Gingerbread biscuits: 9 December – Pepparkakansdag
Gingerbread cookies, known as pepparkakor in Sweden, probably originated in Nuremberg, Germany, in the middle ages. Mentioned in Swedish in 1444 for the first time, the word pepper was used to mean spices in it, as pepper was the most common spice at the time. Baking them became a typical Christmas thing in Sweden and other countries, remember the episode of Pippi were she cuts them in the shape of her horse and monkey? Pepparkakansdag was, similarly to Kannelbullensdag, invented in 1996 by gingerbread maker Annas Pepparkakor.
Apparently there is also a Polkagrisensdag (candy cane day) on 20th April, but it mostly promoted in Gränna, near the Vättern lake. There Amalia Eriksson invented the polkagrisstång in 1859, the red-white peppermint candy cane, and many local shops celebrate this day.
Norwegian Seamen Churches all over the world host 17th May celebrations. I attended the festivities in Rotterdam, joining the parade and eating a pølse i lompe!
On a trip to Amsterdam, I decided to test Scandinavian Embassy and both of its two locations, starting with the bakery in europaplein. The two locations are in Amsterdam zuid: Saphatipark and Europaplein: in the former, a more central location, you can sit but it has fewer items than the bakery in Europaplein. The bakery,…
Estonian is a Finnic language, sharing many similarities with its ‘bigger’ sister Finnish, while being unrelated to all their bigger language neighbours
How graduating from high school is like in Sweden, Denmark, Norway!
Hats and buses
the symbol of High school graduation is a hat resembling a ship’s captain cap, the first time I saw a Swedish graduation celebration picture I was pretty confused about those hats, but it’s actually a tradition inspired by German students, spreading it to Nordic countries in the 19th century.
Another common thing in Scandinavian is that graduates celebrate around town on rented buses or trucks (sometimes saving up years just to rent one), generally playing loud music, drinking and just partying!
Denmark 🇩🇰
Danes have an oral exam as final. you have to decide who from your family is placing the hat, studenterhue, on your head, when you step out from it. It’s the norm to wear the graduation cap for at least 2 weeks, It is courtesy that people they meet on the street congratulate them, even if they don’t know each other.
”Congratulations for the cap” Danish graduation cards
The ribbon on Danish caps was originally only either blue (Mathematics students) or red (Arts students), it now comes in many different colors depending on the length of your education and which school you went to, see all possible variations on Alt.dk.
There are lots of rules involving the studenterhue:
You can’t wear your cap before your last exam (it would bring bad luck)
your gradehas to be written in the center of the hat, and friends and family can leave autographs and short notes in it
friends bite in the shadow for good luck.
the students with the biggest and smallest hat size, and the ones with the highest and lowest grade average have to buy a box of beers for the class
the hat has to be cut in different ways if the student has drunk 24 units within sunrise, if he vomits, and so on to the point a which if the student goes to the hospital because of too much alcohol the whole shade is cut off.
more rules are related to having sex (heart on the sweatband if with the partner, lightning on the rim if not in a relation) , kissing someone (if same gender the cross has to be turned), breaking up (metals going off), taking a swim with only the hat on (wave in the rim)
If the student has been awake for 24 hours then the hat must be turned around (shadow in the back)
The Studenterkørsel – student drive – is an important part of the celebration, renting a truck decorated with beech branches to party, drink and play loud music on (here‘s a site where the trucks & stuff can be arranged). It drives to each student’s home for around 15 minutes, for a short visit where parents give snacks and drinks before the next destination.
This can last one or two days and of course also the studenterkørsel has its own rules, among which running after the truck if you get an A in your last exam, and learning a battle cry to scream at passing student trucks!
Everyone greets and sends their congratulations when they see these trucks. On my very first day in Denmark Student buses were driving around (slowing down the bus I was on though, haha) and following my friend’s example we waved at them, flying my welcoming flag! It felt quite cool!
Sweden 🇸🇪
In Sweden there’s one big day, Studenten, but the celebration starts around the end of April, where students organize games which will give points deciding who will be the first student running out of the school on the gruaduation day; it can be anything from chill to embarrassing things to do, though maybe not as wild as what you’ll read for Norway. In May, there’s one day called Mösspåtaggning, on which students dress up nicely with their hat Studentmössa on, and with classmates they go to school and then to a restaurant or bar, celebrating that one month is left until the studenten time.
The big day of Studenten may vary depending on the school, but it is usually around 30th May to 15th June, with 6th June (Sweden national day) being the pitch.
This day starts with fellow students meeting up very early – between 4 and 7 am for the Champagnefrukost, Champagne breakfast
At 8-9 it’s time to leave for school, with some proving they can keep up with the celebration despite being drunk.
Around 10 everybody listens to the principal giving a speech, some students get diploma for things as All-A-Student etc.
At 11-12: photo shootings of classes!
Once they got their diploma, Students run out of school to their families and friends, who are waiting for them holding a picture of the graduate as a baby or small child, and give them blue-yellow chains with flowers and trinkets as plushies!
Business making the graduation pictures for you in Uddevalla
The clothing for this day is quite formal, with boys wearing suits, girls usually a white dress. each student has their name and surname embroidered on the hat, which costs around 100 euros
After staying with their families for some time, studentsget on flatbed buses driving through the city as the Danes do, dancing, drinking and partying. In some cases they just walk around instead, something which has been encouraged by authorities after several accidents involving the flatbuses occured.
Norway 🇳🇴
Norwegian graduation celebrations, Russ (short for russefeiring) is a big deal in Norway, with youngsters in overalls roaming cities for almost a month, from the end of April to the Norwegian Constitution Day, (May 17th). On that day, the students are awarded their caps and join the parade in their overalls. The russ period has also become known as “the three-week binge” treukersfylla, continue reading to find out why…
The personalized overalls, russebukse, are usually red, or blue in case of financial and business studies, and personalized with patches. On this website Norwegians can get their russ equipment 😉
On the caps, Russeluer, Students write the Russ names they’ve been given, but the important part is a long cord, which gets knots (knuter) added for given dares completed before graduation: russeknuter. The tradition was introduced in the 40s, with different lists of around 100 dares for every school. Many dares involve sex and alcohol, and a lot are just hilarious. Classics are wearing loaves of bread on your feet for a whole day, not sleeping for 48 hours and bathing outside before 1st May. After criticism that russ was getting too wild, some new dares were invented to encourage teens to make good choices, such as getting tested for STDs or giving food to a homeless person.
Here are a few recurring ones (trinket – dare associated to it):
TAMPON – Put two tampons in your mouth and drink a pint of beer/cider.
TWIGS FROM THE GARDEN – Sleep in a tent in a teacher’s garden.
CANDY BURGER – Eat a cheeseburger in two bites.
“L” – Put an “L” (used for driving practice) on the back of a public transport vehicle.
CONDOM PACKAGE – Buy a pack of condoms using only body language.
BANKNOTE – Place a 5 minute poledance on a pole on a public transport.
RUBBER DUCK – Bathe with someone else in a canopy in front of the school, remember to scrub each other.
TOY FIRE TRUCK – Have safe sex during your period/with someone on theirs.
Here is the whole list of Russeknuter of Oslo for 2022 (in Norwegian). Because of what’s happening, this year there is a special Ukraine-knut, which can be gained if the class contacts a refugee centre and brings some fun activities to socially engage the young refugees there.
As the other Scandinavians Norwegians also rent or buy buses – thetradition of buying an old van or bus and painting it started in the 70s – but they do it on the next level, with their Russebuss, large coach buses completely decked out with colors, graphics, retrofitted and customized to become mobile partying units! The average Russbuss is used by 15 to 25 students and costs around $116,000!! Drivers are hired to drive them to Festivals and landstreff (national meetings) to meet Russ from whole Norway and party, party, party.
You may now wonder why students party that wildly in April. That’s because by the early 2000s, the authorities were worried about the impact all this partying and alcohol would have on the students’ grades, so the final exams in public schools were moved to early May. but what ended up happening was simply that the students started the russefeiring earlier.
Bonus: Finland 🇫🇮
The girl I portrayed on the cover picture of this article is a Finn, (@alwaystimeforbujo on ig, she posts about bullet journaling), so here is something about Finland too:
The Finnish cap, Ylioppilaslakki, is similar to the Swedish version, but instead of coloured fabric cockade, it has a metallic, gold-colored cockade depicting the lyre of Apollo, the insignia of the University of Helsinki.
Truck parties are a thing in Finland too, but in February, when students begin preparing for their final exams. A typical thing they do is dressing up in various costumes visiting the town’s school and throwing candy!
Cream buns are enjoyed in Nordic and Baltic countries during shrovetide, between January and February. Sweden’s classic semla has almond paste, while other countries variations include jam, vanilla cream, and chocolate icing top.
Sámi people, indigenous people of North Scandinavia, have a distinct culture, symbolised by its unique flag and traditional clothing, and part of it are Duodji handicrafts and unique musical expression through yoik.
From old folk dresses varying for each district to the Sverigedräkt, a national dress for all of Sweden
Swedish folk costumes, Folkdräkter, are an important part of a Swedish cultural heritage, and are symbols for local and national identity. There are 840 different variations (550 female outfits and 290 male ones). Some of them have a rather long history, dating back from the 17th century. Members of the Swedish royal family wears a blue and yellow dress with daisy decorations on some occasions – that dress is much more recent!
Dishes depicting folk dresses from various Swedish districts: Dalarna, Småland, Öland, Västergötland, Bohuslän
Different types of Swedish folk costume
Swedish folk costumes vary by region of origin, but in some they are more common, Dalarna has a very rich folk costume culture for example.
Some from Dalarna (Leksand, ?, Rättvik), central Sweden; and Norrbotten, northern Sweden
Each district had its own tailor, and some areas with natural boundaries and good communications within the district itself but poorer connections with the outside world would develop their own designs. Among typical features are flower patterns and headgear of all kinds, from bonnets to horn-shaped hats.
Postcard with a folk costume from Dalarna. Illustration by Lena Wikman,
in the 1850s, with the industrialization of Sweden,folk costumes started to be abandoned – but around 1900, with the National romantic period, upper classes amused themselves by wearing them. Some artists also depicted them, Among others Jenny Nyström and Carl Larsson:
[…] In addition we need the bright colors of the peasant costumes. They have an invigorating effect on our senses that is all too often under-estimated and they are necessary as a contrast to the deep green pine forest and the white snow
Carl Larsson, from ‘Ett hem’ (A Home)
I got a couple postcards from Swedish penpals with paintings featuring folk costumes, by Carl Larsson (and I got a tiny Hello kitty in a svenska dräkten from the same person!) and Stina Sunesson
I even found a few folk dresses once at a second hand store, including a hat!
The invention of the Swedish National dress, Almänna svenska nationaldräkten
svenska dräkten for sale at the Röda korset second hand charity shop
In 1983 Queen Silvia wore the Svenska dräkten on Sweden’s National Day, 6th June, starting a tradition. The dress she wore was relatively recent, designed by a woman called Märta Jörgensen.
Märta Jörgensen was an apprentice gardener when came to the Royal Castle of Tullgarn, in the province of Södermanland in 1900. There, all female employees wore a costume inspired by a traditional dress from Österåker, by decision of the then queen Victoria.
She then married and moved to Dalarna working as a teacher. In Falun she set up the Swedish Women’s National Costume Society, Svenska Kvinnliga Nationaldräkts-Föreningen in 1902. Her goal was to ‘achieve freedom from the dominant foreign fashion through the introduction of a national dress for Swedish women’, that had to be of a simple cut and design, influenced by national romanticism.
She designed two models, one for everyday wear, Blue with a yellow apron as the Swedish flag; the other for special occasions, with a red bodice, representing the Swedish-Norwegian Union (that lasted until 1905).
left one has been used by the royals, the right one is based on the few pictures I could find online.
The Costume Society had over 200 members in 1910, but interest decreased after WW2. Swedish folk costumes enjoyed however a comeback in the 70s. Queen Silvia wearing it on Sweden’s national day in 1983 made it the official national costume.
Side note – Definitions for Swedish folk costumes
Swedish folk costumes are called in various ways: folk folkdräkt (folk dress), landskapsdräkt(national costume), sockendräkt(provincial costume), bygde- or hembygsdräkt(parish or district costume), härads-dräkt (old jurisdictional county costume). The Swedish Museums have decided that the term folkdräkt can only be used for costumes from areas with a well documented, locally distinctive form of dress.
Discover Greenland, home to the Inuit Kalaallit, and its most iconic aspects as its flag, language and folk costumes. The biggest island of the world has a rich history of indigenous culture intertwined with Norse colonization and later Danish rule.
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.
Julehjerter, a common Christmas ornament In Denmark and Norway.
As i had already mentioned talking about Christmas symbols in Nordic countries, a common homemade Christmas ornament in Scandinavia is pleated hearts, very common in Denmark, known as Julehjerter, and Norway, where they are called Juletrekurv.
Children make them with their family with paper of different colours, although they are mostly red and white. They have been made for around 150 years: the oldest known guide to making pleated Christmas hearts is found in an 1871 edition of the Danish journal Nordisk Husflidstidende. A 1873 pleated heart can be seen at the National museum in Oslo and one from 1866 at H. C. Andersen house in Odense!
Make your own Julehjerter
I made my very own, simple version of them, so they are not really a basket as the Norwegian name says, and I used strings to hang them on the tree.
what I used:
colored paper (the most traditional version is white & red, but do as you please). I used leftover paper we had at home.
Scissors, obviously and something to make holes on paper, as pins
Strings
Process:
cut paper, put two sheets on top of each other when cutting so it is of the same size.
cut the lines to intertwine the two pieces: they can be all of the same size or the two inner parts narrower.
3. Intertwine the pieces: depending on how you cut the lines you will have a slightly different pattern
4. Make a hole and put the string in it
Your Christmas Heart is ready to be hung on your tree or wherever you want!
Please share with me your Julehjerter if you happen to make any 🙂
17th May is Norway’s national day, in which parades are the central event
Known as Syttende Mai (17th May) is Norway’s Constitution Day, Grunnlovsdagen, the most important day in Norway, characterized by parades, a sea of flags everywhere and people wearing the Norwegian folk costume, the Bunad. It is commonly called Norway’s birthday!
On this day the Constitution was signed at Eidsvoll in 1814, declaring Norway as an independent kingdom after being continuosly handed over from and to Sweden and Denmark. Celebrations began among students despite Norway still being in an union with Sweden. WW2 ended in Norway nine days before that year’s Constitution Day, and this strengthened the meaning of 17. mai!
Parades (17. mai-tog)
Norway’s national day is also called “Barnas dag” (children’s day). Each elementary school district arranges its own parade with marching bands. In 1864 the first children’s parade was launched in Oslo, but only with boys until 1899. The parades are, in order:
senior school children carrying the school’s official banner
others carrying full-size Norwegian flags;
the school’s marching band;
the rest of the children follow with hand-sized flags, and often self-made banners for each class.
The parade often stops at homes of senior citizens and war memorials. Kindergartens and bystanders often join in behind the parade as it passes.
songs about the celebration of the National Dayare sung, and the parade is concluded with the national anthem Ja, vi elsker dette landet, and the royal anthem Kongesangen. At the end, The children shout “Hurra!”. All parades begin or end with speeches. Both grown-ups and older children are invited to speak. After the parades, there are games for the children: sekkeløp (sack race) and potetløp (egg & spoon race) are two classics.
Norway’s birthday is the day on which children are allowed to eat as much ice cream as they please! Popular snacks are pølser (hotdogs), barbecue, waffles. Food with colors of the Norwegian flags is of course a must.
Other parades
Parades for the public, Borgertog, where everybody is welcome to join in. They are led by marching bands and often local boy scouts, local choirs, NGOs, sport associations and firefighters. The borgertog take place in the early morning or in the afternoon, before or after the school’s parade.
The Russ, graduating class of the videregående (high school),celebrate 17 May with their own parades in Norwegian streets later in the day, usually around 4 or 5 pm, on a Russebuss, a party bus, highlight of Norwegian graduation traditions…
Celebrations in Norwegian cities
The longest parade is in Oslo, broadcasted on tv. It includes around 100 schools, marching bands, and passes the royal palace where the royal family greet the people from the main balcony. In the municipality of Asker, near Oslo, the children gather outside the residence of the Crown Prince in the morning.
Bergen has its own traditions for the parade, including comic troupes, various local organisations, a children’s parade, and the buekorps
In Stavanger international schools arrange parades with flags from many countries and an international parties. the British school started it in the 1970s, followed up by the Dutch school and the American school.
Kristiansand, is known for the conclusion of the National Day with running through the city centre (“Tapto”) and spectacular fireworks. A trad jazz band plays until midnight in front of the Christiansholm Fortress.
17 MAI IN THE WORLD
Norwegian seamen churches (sjømannskirken) and Norwegian heritage associations organise 17 mai parades, Norwegian church service, and celebrate the day in parks, with typical Norwegian food and music.
AMERICA
In the United States and Canada, the local lodges of the Sons of Norway often play a central part in organizing the festivities, attended by people with Norwegian ancestry, common in the mid-western USA.
Chicago – holds a three-day 17 mai celebration
New York City – has had a 17 mai parade since 1952.
Petersburg, Alaska a.k.a. “Little Norway”: has a festival the weekend around 17 May, including Vikings and Valkyries.
Since 1969, the city of Westby, western Wisconsin has a four-day festival
Seattle and Salt Lake City, Utah also have 17 mai celebrations with parades, folk dancing and luncheons.
EUROPE
Stockholm has the biggest 17 mai parade outside Norway – ending at Skansen, where you can get waffles, coffee and hot dogs!
17 May in London is celebrated every year in Southwark Park. Games, live music, and a parade from the Norwegian church to the park are in the programme
In Orkney/Shetland (Scotland) 17 May is celebrated as the islands used to be part of the Norwegian kingdom. Orkney holds a parade, and children are invited to bring their Norway and Orkney flags.
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 are well known for their traditional occupation of reindeer herding: around 10% of Sámi practice reindeer herding nowadays, which in some parts of the Nordic countries can be practiced only by Sámis.
Sami people mantain a strong cultural identity while being citizens of their countries, from languages – which are related to Finnish – to traditional clothing and a Sami flag.
Sami people of Norway, Sweden, and Finland also reunite in Sami parliaments of each country since the late 20th century, and have a joint Saami Council. The first meeting of Sami across borders in 1917 became Sami national Day, on 6th February.
After religious missions and colonisation of Northern Scandinavia, Sami people were subject to discriminization and forced assimilation – from prohibiting them to enter territories to the south in Sweden or buying land in Norway, to the Systematic Norwegianization in the 1860s.
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 left many with traumas, not speaking Sámi languages to children as a way to protect them.
This started to change with laws, the funding of Sami parliaments, and recognization of Sami as indigenous people of Scandinavia, giving them the right to education in their language. Despite this, most Sami languages are endangered
Recommendations
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
Sources :
Samiskeveivisere.no – Samer og nordmenn i Norge – Samiske Veivisere
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.
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.
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, SwedenMoomin corner of ArOS art museum in Aarhus, Denmark. Japanese gacha-gacha moomin!
Moomin themed-cafes are very popular in East Asian countries: other than in Finlandvarious 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.
The lovely sea parrot living around the North Atlantic coasts, symbol of Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
The Atlantic puffin, Lundi in Icelandic and Faroese, is a species of seabird in the auk family.
It populates the North Atlantic coasts of Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Shetland and Orkney Islands, Norway, Greenland, Canadian coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. Colonies in Iceland alone are home to 60% of the world’s Atlantic puffins, in particular Westman islands (Vestmannaeyjar).
Atlantic puffins are in danger, threatened by pollution, and the introduction of predators in islands use for nesting, the risk of drowning in fishing nets among others. Based on current trends, the European population will decline an estimated 50–79% between 2000 and 2065.
Cutouts of a Faroese landscapes and its puffins! The beak of this 30 cm-tall bird can contain 13 fish!
Name origin of the Puffins
The scientific name Fratercula Artica comes from the Medieval Latin fratercula, “friar”, a reference to the black and white plumage which resembles monastic robes. “Puffin” comes from puffed in the sense of swollen.
The bird’s most distinctive feature, its colorful beak, and its funny appearance have given rise to nicknames associating it to a parrot: for example DanishSøpapegøj “sea parrot” and Dutch papegaaiduiker “parrot diver”.
Puffins in Icelandic and Faroese history
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 are now protected by legislation, and where hunting is still permitted, strict laws prevent overexploitation.
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.
Puffins as Icelandic and Faroese ambassador in the world
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)
A puffin named Piddi was the mascot for the Island Games in the Faroes in 1989. In 2023 The UK channel island of Guernsey chose a puffin for its island games mascot as well – Jet the Puffin.
Puffins are often used to promote these Nordic islands, especially where cuteness is highly valued as in East Asia. ICELAND MARKET in Nagoya, Japan, used to be a cafe with puffins in its logo and merch, 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 logos, symbols and pop culture elsewhere
Puffins are a bird very typical of Iceland and the Faroe Islands, but they can of course be found on other countries’ North Atlantic shores. Therefore, they appear in logos, stamps and as mascots from the British isles (channel islands particularly), Norway and North America too.
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. Oscar Puffin was the mascot of the UK Channel Islands broadcast IVT Channel television. the star of the birthday greeting programme Puffin’s pla(i)ce
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
Puffins (2020) – spinoff series of Arctic Dogs (2019). A group of puffins working for a walrus.
The ‘anchor’ language concept allowed me to learn Swedish, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian easily starting from studying properly only one language. This approach helps prevent confusion and builds a solid foundational understanding of language structures.
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. InNorway, 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 calledJoulupukki…
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 themid-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: Pepparkakorin 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.
a Polyglot illustrating Scandinavia 