Hyvää Pääsiäistä! Or Happy Easter! The Easter celebration continues here in Finland, despite the very secular leanings of the country. Below are a few traditions in Helsinki and Finland:
Passion play
There is a reenactment of the Passion of Christ, with a man lugging a cross through one of the large streets in the center, ending by climbing all of the steps up to large white Lutheran Cathedral. I can't comment on this one since we didn't go: it was 9PM on Friday night and our sauna time is at 8.
Mämmi
This is a special Easter time delicacy. It is sold in boxes in the stores or people make it at home, though this is rather labor-intensive. It seems to be a great divide in Finland: you either love it or hate it. What is it? It is a dessert that looks pretty disgusting but is actually made of food items: water, rye flour, powdered malted rye, dark molasses, salt, and dried orange zest. It is served cold with cream or vanilla sauce and sugar. We tried some at a party a few weeks ago, and I am on the fence about it. The taste wasn't offensive, but I didn't need to eat more. The consistency was reminiscent of Malt-O-Meal, and the taste, well, at least it didn't taste the way it looks.
photo courtesy of yle.fi
Rye grass
At the beginning of Lent, it is quite popular for children to plant a small dish of rye grass seeds and to watch it grow over the next few weeks. Rye seeds sprout very quickly, and so in a matter of weeks, there is a nice patch of grass growing. And by Easter, the grass is just tall enough in which to hide Easter eggs, I am told.
Mignon Eggs
I've saved the best for last. The Fazer company gets in on the Easter action, too. Actually, they were probably one of the first to capitalize on the holiday as the box said that this was their second product and originated in 1896. This time of year, they produce the Mignon egg. This is a dessert that you will actually want to devour. The Fazer company processes 2.5 million real chicken eggs that are precisely the same size. A small hole is drilled in one end and the eggs and emptied of their contents (not wasted -- somehow used in industrial cooking). The shells are then washed and sterilized and refilled with a chocolate hazelnut mix. Yum! This is, however, a ton of chocolate, so we shared one last night:
Happy Easter! What are your favorite traditions?
It is spring in Finland, or so I am told. My notions of spring are decidedly different: I imagine increased sunlight, cool days, and trees budding. Here, the days are increasing (up to 12.5 hours of sunlight!), but that is where the similarities end. The temperatures have been the coldest of the season and the snow and ice show very little sign of melting. In fact, there are people still walking and skiing on the ice in the harbors. Nevertheless, it is spring and Easter season here.
There are a few unique traditions during Holy Week in Finland. First, instead of passing out palm leaves in church on Palm Sunday, pussy-willow branches are distributed. These are apparently the only budding life forms in Finland at this time of year, though with this weather, it is difficult to imagine that anything has been growing!
The second tradition is akin to trick-or-treating. On Sunday morning, the children dress up as witches and go door-to-door. They carry with them a basket of handmade willow branches adorned with colorful feathers or streamers. When they ring your door bell, they say a short rhyme:
"Virvon varvon, tuoreeks, terveeks, tulevaks vuodeks, vitsa sulle, palkka mulle!"
This roughly translates to, "I wave a twig for a fresh and healthy year ahead; a twig for you, a treat for me!"
This custom is a blend of the Russian Orthodox ritual in which these willow branches represented the palms laid down when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and the Swedish tradition in which witches drove away evil spirits at Easter. As a side note, the children do not generally dress up and trick-or-treat at Halloween, though I think that this notion is becoming more popular. Wonder if we'll have any witches? Hope so! We have a small supply of chocolate eggs just in case.
The final tradition is that of a nation-wide holiday on Good Friday and Easter Monday. A lot of Finns take advantage of this 4-day weekend to travel: to visit family, to spend time at their summer cottage, or to go to Estonia. This is such a popular time to travel that when we thought of going somewhere, all of the reasonable accommodations were booked. Instead, we will enjoy a long weekend in the city. Hope you have a Happy Easter!
