Laskiainen

On Shrove Tuesday (Laskiainen) people took their sledges and went down the hill while shouting sayings that brought long flax to the house, and ate special foods to become healthy and strong. The customs of Laskiainen brought good luck for the coming summer and for the whole year. Laskiainen has been a special sacred day for women, and many of the customs and beliefs associated with the day concern the raw materials of women's handicraft: flax, hemp and wool, or cattle, or the plants farmed by women, such as turnip greens, peas and beans.

Laskiainen marked the end of women's one yearly work period, and the beginning of other. Spinning had to be completed before Laskiainen, and weaving could be started after it because days had got longer. However, these works were not done on Laskiainen. Home chores were done early in the day, so that people would not never be late in their work during the rest of the year. The women held their hair open, and wore white shirts and sometimes a white ribbon. Women could comb their hair even nine times during the day so that flax would grow long and beautiful.

Flax played indeed an important role in many customs of Laskiainen. Young people - and older ones too – used sledges to go down the hill. This ensured good luck with flax in the coming summer. At the same time they shouted sayings that expressed their desire to have beautiful long flax and other things for the house. The further the sled glided, the longer the flax would become. People would shout things like: "Long flax to our house, thorns to your house! Hey hey long flax!"

People went early to the sauna, and men and women had a sort of competition of who gets there first. If the men were first, the house would get more bull calves, if the women, there would be calves. People sat in the sauna in perfect silence. It was said that whoever spoke out loud, would be pestered by flies and gadflies in the summer. Sometimes people played pranks on each other when trying to get one another to speak. This might, for instance, mean pouring a bucket of cold water on some poor fellow's back.

People remained silent also on the evening and during the supper. In Central Finland, flour and salt were spread on the table before dinner and protective symbols were drawn in them. Then people sat in the table and ate in silence. The whole evening was spent in darkness, as one was not supposed to bring fire to the house on the evening of Laskiainen. People went to sleep early, so that they would wake up feeling refreshed on every morning during the next year.

Food eaten on Laskiainen was supposed to include lots of fat. In Western and Southern Finland, people prepared a soup of peas or beans that included pig's trotters, and also enjoyed blood sausages and cheeses. In Central Ostrobothnia and Savo, people ate flatbread containing pork. Wheat buns were baked in south-western Finland, and still eaten today all around Finland on Laskiainen. In addition, people ate milk-based porridge, freshly baked bread, mämmi and other dishes. It was said that the shinier ones fingers and corners of the mouth became, the better the animals would give milk and gain weight.

I've been burning

Bone shard from my dog's bone. It now has his initial on it. J for Joiku. It's just for training. I'm amazed the bones capability to preserve heat.

Helmikuu

The Finnish name for February (’helmikuu’, pearl-month) comes from icy pearls that can be seen on the branches of trees after weather changes suddenly from thaw to frost. In South-Western Finland it was said that ”the forest has ice pearls”. In Eastern Finland the forest was said to have ”splashes”, and in further west ”hazel grouse eyes”. This weather observation was important because it was calculated that the ripening of rye would take place 200 days after the first mid-winter thaw.

February is the second of the mid-winter months, or the ’little oak’ (pikkutammi) after the ’big oak’ (meaning tammikuu, January). In Eastern Finland the month has also been called ’kaimalo’ or ’kaimal-month’. The name comes from the fact that the ’little oak’ is January’s little namesake, or ’kaima’, hence the diminutive ’kaimalo’.

February was considered rather malevolent when compared to its older brother. February does not, however, manage to be as cold as January, although he certainly tries. ”When I freeze with my other eye, the other one pours water”, February laments.

Nevertheless, weather is certainly cold in February. The coldest days of winter are usually around early February in southern Finland, and during the last days of January in northern Finland. February is also known for its snowfall and blizzards. Long warm periods were not well received by the people because they were said to predict long, cold spring. It was said that if February gives easy days, March will take them back.

Towards the end of mid-winter more and more signs of spring could be seen and forecasts made based on them. If potted plants began to grow already in February, one could expect early spring. Same prediction could be made if the cat came into heat on the early February days. Frosty and misty February mornings, in turn, predicted cold weather for the summer.

February was the time for continuing the mid-winter tasks. Trees were cut for firewood and construction material, and fishnets weaved. It was said that the nets should be placed in the lake during the new moon in February. There are no major feasts in February before the Shrovetide. Matti’s Day at the end of the month, however, is an important milestone for spring, and has been also called the first spring day.

hyperactive

I've been silent lately because our router/modem system died and we have not get new one yet. I'm using wifi through my phone and that is so slooooooooow it makes me crazy.

I have not been up much lately. Mostly skijoring and jogging and trying to figure out my future. There is application for colleges starting in next month and I think I have some idea what I'm going to do.

Week ago or so, me and my fiancé had really deep conversation about me and my social problems. He said he thinks that I am highly sensitive person. He has been seen some program from TV about it and thought that I might be that kind of person.

Before that I actually have been thinking that I might have asperger's syndrome because I am interested so odd things and I am really odd person after all. But there was also a lot of things in asperger's that didn't really describe me. For example, I have quite good social skills but asperger's usually don't have.

There is defects in me that my social anxiety/phobia usually can explain and lot of things that I don't know why they happen in me. Like, if I get too excited I usually start crying because I can't handle the overwhelmingness of the feeling I feel. It has been scary and has made my social life hard because I'm really ashamed when I start crying and I can't do anything for it to stop.

I don't know why I felt so reliefing when I today studied a little about highly sensitiveness. I actually got really happy and I also was a little hyperactive by coffee. But like, I have always said that even the slightest bit of alcohol has got my head buzzing but my hunny haven't never believed it and a half cup of coffee makes me hyperactive (neither he believed that) and got my heart bouncing - it all comes together now. I am HSP.

I actually feel really strong now. I know what's going on in me and I can find a strategy to manage in everyday life. I have not made anything in my mind - my experiences are true, my feelings are true, I am true.

Darng. That feels soooooo goood.

Omg. I'm 22.

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Sitting inside in warm and quite cozy sofa. It's dark outside. It's almost Christmas. I love this feeling.

I put my aquarium to getting ready for triops. I think I will put the eggs on the water at Christmas eve.

Because I don't really have anything important to write, I will ask a question. You can answer at comments.

What would you like to know about Finnish culture and traditions - or about me?

:)

I've a lot of going on !

The house is finally clean. I'm proud of myself. I'm ready for Christmas!

I started a project against school bullying - or bullying in general - and I have been planning it. I also want to open a new forum for book and writing enthusiast. There's not much of them in Finland so I wish I would get some active discussers.

I was visiting at my dad and brother about a week in Southern Finland. Those pictures under this post are taken back there. I'm home now. That one week was enough. I don't still really like my parents as I used to. I get along them pretty well but I don't really enjoy their company. Or mom is quite okay now but my dad has get really lunatic and it is sometimes really frustrating to try to have discussion with him.
Like, he was thinking that our younger dog eats too much so the dog's food bag will shrink too quickly and I should feed him only this or that amount of food. Dad didn't really get the point when I said him that I need to feed the dog so much that he will not try to check my kitchen lockers trough for food. Our dog consumes more than his dog so it has to eat more than his dog. Joiku will not make it with lesser food because he starts to searching more food. So I have to keep him full and happy. This is something that my dad didn't get. Or he didn't really want to even listen because he thought he was right no matter what.

It's sort of funny that my dog eats already food for sporting dogs which has more energy than regular and also a double-sized meal so he wouldn't lose any weight. And he is completely healthy dog. It just is his metabolism.

Today we were visiting dog park.

Snowy day

At last we got some snow!

"Omg. You are not a useless bitch."

 I fixed my kitchen scale that has been broken quite long. It was quite heart-warming to hear one male friend of mine to say that I'm not a "useless bitch" when I show him what I had done. That is, like, big praise when he says that.

This is what I have been up to lately. Not much as you see. I'm trying to figure out how to clean up the apartment for Christmas. Feeling too lazy and I'm not really in cleaning mood. Blah.

Guksi

I got my fiancé's birthday gift ready. I burned that pikeperch design to it. So, yes, I'll give him a guksi (or in Finnish: kuksa) which is a type of drinking cup traditionally duodji crafted by the Sami people of northern Scandinavia from carved birch burl. I didn't carve it because I don't have tools required for that - I bought it.

Taking kuksa to use you have to do a "Guksi's initiate" or kuksan huljutus. It's a tradition and this is what you need to do: you pour coffee or cognac (or whatever you like) to your kuksa so that bottom is fairly covered. Then you have to rotate the kuksa in counter-clockwise so the liquid will rise to the edge - but don't spill it! Now, drink it up.
Then you do that same thing but now in clockwise.
Third filling you can take the amount of your drink as you like.

When you clean your kuksa - don't use any detergents or you will ruin your kuksa. Kuksa is ONLY cleaned with moist towel or under a clean water.
One Lappland-ish belief says that if you wash your guksi you can lose your luck: only rinse in mountain streams is allowed.

I've been burning

I'll write more later~

It's like a Dark Paradise

 I visited at Library today.

I borrowed these books:
Helena Waris: Talviverinen
Helena Waris: Vuori
Peter Watts: Sokeanäkö (Blindsight)
Duodecim & Punainen risti: Hädän hetkellä
Merja Leppälahti: Vahvaa väkeä
Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura: Kanteletar

I also got some mail - my course picture from emotional/mental support course I accomplished in last month.

I have not done anything special today. I woke up at 0811. Then I proceeded to open my computer, searched for a job and chatted a while with one old friend in Facebook. After that I visited in the library and took few postcards in the mail. Three Postcrossing cards to America, Lithuania and Germany.

Hello world.

I am Viima. 20-something female from Finland.

I live here with my two dogs and my fiancé. Or he has been working on other city about 6 months now. So I'm kind of just by myself. And dogs. Never forget dogs.
He will come back home in December.

I use my spare time with my dogs (bikejoring / mushing / skijoring / canicross / dry land mushing / obedience training / dog shows / just adventuring in the forest), geocaching, running (long distance / cross country) and writing about my adventuries in few different blogs. This is my first blog in English.

I also love postcards and letters and different countries - you can find me from Postcrossing and Interpals.
If you want to send letters or postcards with me - send me a messages trough one of the websites.