Paljon onnea minulle ja muille :0

Kakkua taas meikäläisen malliin - cake again á la moi...

It is the name day of my good friend today (my alter ego?)... which means is the name day of me too... and Johanna, Hanna & Jenni... to mention a few. To celebrate the occasion we invited a few mates around from Vallila & Walsrode + we carried some leftovers to Vartiokylä to a friend who had just ordered some indian with her sister. Does the strawberry cream kakku go with curry? At least the thank you message said that they enjoyed the dessert.

As e.g. in Finnish phone books V & W are often under the same heading V,W, this time we only invited people from towns/cities/places starting with V & W covering the above mentioned placed in the world... perhaps next time L for London & 'L-can't think of any other place where we have friends'? Sorry guys... The cake was good though :) ha ha ha...

Onnea Ylioppilaalle!

Ylioppilaan 'juhla-ateria'

30.5. Suomi juhli monen uuden ylioppilaan kanssa, niin mekin teimme. Mikä parasta, ilma oli aurinkoinen ja tunnelma ylpeän isän puheessa shampanjan ja kakun siivittämänä oli mahtava.

On Saturday Finland celebrated many new 'Ylioppilas' (= youngsters who had passed their matriculation examinations (a mouth full that word...) and had just received their shiny white caps, which they can now start wearing every vappu (making them less shiny & white)). The weather was perfect for a garden party of my god son and the speach of the proud father + 'kakku' (=cake) & champagne were memorable.

Good luck for T in future & army... in 45 days ;D

Mämmiä - kiitos!

nam nam...

'Mämmi' is a traditional Finnish Easter time dessert made from rye flour and malt. It has a brown and sticky appearance (yes, it does look like...) and as far as mämmi is concerned there are two types of people: those who love it; and those who hate it. There's no middle ground.

'Mämmi' can be bought ready-made from a shop during Easter in a variety of boxes and sizes. Making mämmi isn't hard either; it just takes quite a lot of time... As you might not get this delicacy elsewhere than in Finland - you might wish to prepare it yourself (we strongly advise against this!): 5 bowls made out of birch bark (?), 3.5 litres of water, 1kg of rye flour, 1/4kg of malt (preferably rye malts), 2 tablespoons of syrup, 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of orange peel. 'Mämmi' is usually eaten with cream or milk & sugar. And apparently it will take you approx. 30mins of nordic stick walking to burn a small bowl of this stuff - so perhaps you don't eat it at all...

Hauskaa Pääsiäistä!

Tipuja rairuohossa

'Rairuoho' (= Easter grass) is growing fast and is ready for the Easter and some local chicks have already found it as their home... Hmmm... How is your rairuoho doing - esp. peops I sent the seeds to? Is it as green and dense as the one above? Let us know! Any wildlife there yet (yes - the chock eggs are counted as wildlife in this case). Happy Easter time to everyone!

13 - Lucian päivä

Lucia-juhla. Lucia-neito Ingeborg Spiik seurueineen Tuomiokirkon portailla.

Lucia-party. Miss Lucia Ingeborg Spiik & co at Tuomiokirkko, Helsinki.

Kuva/Photo by: Volker von Bonin/ Helsingin kaupunginmuseo 1962.

Pyhä Lucia (lat. Sancta Lucia) on katolisen kirkon pyhimys, joka koki marttyyrikuoleman noin vuonna 304. Mitään muuta Luciasta ei varmuudella tiedetäkkään. Lucian päivää vietetään Pyhän Lucian muistoksi 13. joulukuuta ennen kaikkea ruotsinkielisissä kulttuurissa (joten näinollen myös Suomessa). Perinteeseen kuuluu Lucia-neito (yleenä nuori blondi), joka on pukeutunut valkoisiin vaatteisiin, punaiseen vyöhön ja kynttiläkruunuun, ja pitää kädessään kynttilää. Ajatuksena on, että Lucia tuo valoa talven pimeyteen. Juliaanisessa kalenterissa talvipäivänseisaus osui Lucian päivän tienoille, ja tämän vuoksi päivää vietetään myös valon juhlana.

Lucia is a saint of the Catholic church, who died as a martyr ca. 304. Not much else is known about her. Lucia's day is celebrated in swedish speaking cultures (therefore also in Finland) on 13 December. Tradition has a Lucia girl (usually young blond), who is dressed in white dress, red belt and candlelit crown, and holds a candle in her hand. Meaning of the day is to bring light into the dark days. The day is also celebrated as a day of light, as in the Julian calendar the winter solstice was on this day.

6 - Itsenäisyyspäivä

Suomen lippu ja kynttilät

Joulukuun 6. päivää on vietetty itsenäisyyspäivänä vuodesta 1919 lähtien. Joulukuun kuudentena päivänä vuonna1917 Suomen edukunta hyväksyi senaatin 4. joulukuuta 1917 antaman Suomen itsenäisyysjulistuksen.

Independence Day was first celebrated in 1919. However Finland was declared as an independent state, on 6 December 1917.

The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna/Edvin Laine

President Tarja Halonen with her husband.

Suomessa itsenäisyyspäivä on rakenteeltaan hyvin perinteinen. Tämä näkyy esimerkiksi siinä, että televisiosta esitetään jokaisena itsenäisyyspäivänä Väinö Linnan romaaniin perustuva Edvin Laineen Tuntematon Sotilas, Puolustusvoimain paraati ja linnanjuhlat vieraiden pukuarvosteluineen. Lippu liehuu salossa ja kynttilät palaa...

The day in Finland is somewhat traditional. Flag is raised up and candles are burned for the memory of people who gave their life for the country. The movie 'Tuntematon Sotilas' (=The Unknown Soldier) based on Väinö Linna's iconic novel, particularly the version directed by Edvin Laine in 1955, is shown on television. In the evening, a gala reception is held for approximately 2000 invited guests at the Presidential Palace. This event, known as Linnan juhlat ("the party at the castle") is broadcast on national television and has been a perennial favorite of the viewing public - People can critisice the horrendous outfits the guests are wearing...

You should know who these hosts/guests from last year are...