Thursday 26 December 2013

                                                        New Year in Finland



New Year is a celebration to mark the new year. On New Year’s eve there is a big party, because of the year change and fireworks to celebrate it. Everyone wish happy New Year at midnight. Around the world people celebrate the new year differently and at slightly different times because of the time zones. At the beginning of the New Year people tend to look back on the past year's events and make plans for the New Year.


In Finland people used to celebrate new year around All Saints Day in the past. Christians seek to replace kalendae celebration the feast of Christmas-related fasting during the day.


At the old times in Finland a bath whisk was thrown on the sauna's roof after the sauna. Bath whisk’s position told the future. For example if the handle pointed towards the church that predicted death and if the top pointed towards the church it meant marriage or good luck. There has also been a lot of other different ways to predict the future, like using mirrors, straws, animals and glass of water with ring hanging from hair. Also the whole year’s weather was forecasted on New Year’s Day.


New Year in Finland is the one of the biggest holidays. Many people spend the New Year’s Eve celebrating with their family and friends watching colourful fireworks, either at home or attending the numerous New Year’s parties in restaurants and nightclubs. Fireworks can shoot only between 6 pm - 2 am. Fireworks comes from China. Original meaning was sending away bad spirits. In Finland New Year’s eve celebration contains traditions like tin casting, fireworks and sparkling wine. At New Year’s Eve many Finns eat potato salad and wieners.


New Year's tin shoes:
One of the most popular tricks performed is casting of tin. Everyone gets a small piece of tin, cast in the in the shape of a miniature horseshoe, a traditional symbol of good luck. The horseshoe is melted and the liquid metal poured quickly in a bucket of cold water, making into harder a more or less irregular-shaped, solid clump.


Picture made by Jon Sullivan
Sources:
- wikipedia.org
- wikimedia commons
- Vuotuinen Ajantieto book



Monday 23 December 2013

Christmas wishes from Poland

Warmest wishes for the coming Christmas,
may this time will be special and unique with lot of happiness and peace,
and all the best for 2013
 
 
 

Christmas Eve


Christmas Eve in Poland means Wigilia. We celebrate it on 24th of December. On this day we eat big dinner with 12 dishes what symbolizes the number of Aphostoles.
 

Traditional Polish dishes are :
·  Borsch with ravioli in polish means barszcz z uszkami.

· Carp with potato salad, carp in aspic etc. Carp provides the main component of the Christmas Eve meal across Poland.

· Śledzie - pickled herring

· rollmops- fish fillet,starter
 
· Pierogi with sauerkraut and forest ; mushrooms filled with cottage cheese and potatoes

· Zupa rybna - fish soup

· Zupa grzybowa - mushroom soup made of various forest mushrooms

· Bigos - savory stew of cabbage and meat

· Kompot - traditional drink a light, refreshing drink most often made of dried or fresh fruit boiled in water with sugar and left to cool and infuse.
· Pieczarki marynowane - marinated mushrooms

· Łosoś - salmon, often baked or boiled in a dill sauce.

· Kopytka - potato dumplings

· Kartofle gotowane - simple boiled potatoes sparkled with parsley or dill

· Kulebiak - with fish or cabbage and wild mushrooms filling

· Ryba smażona or ryba po grecku - fried fish laid under lyers of fried shreded carrots, onions, root celery and leek

· Sałatka jarzynowa - salad made with boiled potatoes and carrots with fresh peas, sweetcorn, dill cucumber, and boiled egg, mixed with mayonnaise

· Galaretka - jellied pig's feet or cold legs.
 
· Faworki - Angel wings

· Pączki - donuts

· Kutia - sweet grain pudding with dried fruits and nuts

· Łamaniec - type of flat and rather hard pancake that is soaked in warm milk with poppy seeds. Eaten in eastern regions such as around Białystok

· Sernik - cheesecake
 
· Makowiec- poppy seed cake

Our meal starts with wafer sharing which is called in Polish "opłatek". We wish each other health and happiness forgetting about quarrels and bad feelings.

 



It's then that Santa Claus comes and bring presents for everybody. Bad children can recive rózga - a a dry branch stick.
 
During the dinner we sing beautiful Polish Christmas carols.
 
Another Polish tradition is attending a midnight mass called Pasterka.
 

 


 

Christmas

Christmas is an annual event which is celebrated on 25th of December. Christians are celebrating christmas in memory of Jesus. Christmas is an old and widespread family celebration all around the world. In Finland Christmas festivities start on Christmas eve on 24th but the actual Christmas day is however on 25th of December. In Finland there is a tradition of bringing in the Christmas tree to be decorated before Christmas. On Christmas eve Santa Claus brings in the presents to be shared. Santa Claus is fairy tale character who lives on mountain Korvatunturi.


Christmas tree Himmeli
Christmas dishes, homemade decorations, sauna, Christmas church, taking candles to the graves of relatives, decorated Christmas tree and Santa Claus belong to Finnish Christmas. Typical Christmas decorations are made of straw. Carrot, swede and potato casseroles, fishdishes, riceporridge, gingerbread cookies, mince pie and ham are traditional christmas dishes.


Santa Claus

Sources of the:
Wikipedia.org
Wikimedia commons

Thursday 12 December 2013

Saint Lucy´s day
We celebrate Lucy’s day here in Finland  on 13th December. Lucia  is chosen by public voting and the money what voting brings goes for charity. Lucy maid crowned in Helsinki's cathedral and after crowning she performs with elfs. Then Lucy maid start lead the parade whats goes around in Helsinki. She joins all kinds of events after that. Usually some schools choose Lucy made and arrange Saint Lucy parades.
Lucy lead the procession, and she has white robe, red belt, crown that has candles and she holds a candle in her hands. The other ones have white robe too, and they are holding candles. The procession sings a song called ‘’ Santa Lucia’’.

The idea is that, Lucy gives light to the darkness.
In  medieval  calendar winter solstice was Lucy´s day, so thats why Lucy´s  day is lights party. Lucy´s day is the year’s longest night.

Lucy´s legend is from Italy.  Sweden was the first country from Nordic countries , who celebrate Lucy’s day. Now Denmark , Malta, Norway and Italy is celebrating it little bit too. In 1898 in Porvoo, at school they taught to kids what is Saint Lucy’s day.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                  
Hark! through the darksome night
Sounds come a  winging:
Lo! ‘tis the Queen of Light
Joyfully singing.
Clad in her garment white,
Wearing her crown of light,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Deep in the northern sky
Bright stars are beaming;
Christmas is drawing nigh
Candles are gleaming.
Welcome thou vision rare,
Lights glowing in thy hair.
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!

Song lyrics: http://www.scandinavius.com/sweden/sesongs.html#anchor1094784

Monday 9 December 2013

St. Nicolas Day - 6th December


St. Nicholas Day - in fact Santa Claus Day -  is celebrated on the 6th of December in Poland. It’s a day, when people give their family and friends candies and small gifts.  Also students at Polish schools give presents to each other. It’s a happy daytime.
 
 
 
This day is celebrated in honor of St. Nicholas, a bishop from Myra in Turkey. He was a rich man who shared his wealth with the poor.
 
 
 
 
The legend says that he used to give presents to those children who put clean shoes outside the door.  When the shoes were dirty a kid didn’t get a present.


Remembering St. Nicholas we put our present into clean socks J

Finland's Independence Day (December 6th)

Finland's Independence Day
Finland's Independence Day  ( Finnish: itsenäisyyspäivä) is a national public holiday held on December 6th. Independence day celebrates Finland's declaration of independence from Russian republic just after World War I.
Finland has been a republic since 1917. So Finland has been a republic for 96 years!
The Finnish flag
Two blue and white candles
We have some traditions we do during the Indepence Day. For example , raising of the flag on Tähtitorninmäki ("Observatory Hill") in Helsinki,  official visits to the war memorials of World War II , religious service at the Helsinki Cathedral, and watching the movie The Unknown Soldier, based on a novel by Väinö Linna.
In the evening it's traditional for many Finnish families to light two candles on the window.
Other tradition is watching  the Presidential Independence Day reception is held at the Presidential Palace. This event, known as Linnan juhlat ("the Castle Ball") is been traditional Independence Day  program. The first presidential ball was organized in 1919, and the event has been held most years since.


Wednesday 4 December 2013

SAINT ANDREW'S DAY - 30th November



          Saint Andrew's Day means Andrzejki in Polish. We celebrate it on the 30thof  November.

       In history, it was the day when young girls, who were waiting for their dream, future husband did a lot of divination to find out how their husbands would look like.

For example they were praying all day and belived that they would see the future husband in their dream.

       Today it is not so serious and people are having fun and going to parties. We „tell fortune” in many different ways.

For example we pick things with symbolic meaning, such as:

   wedding ring – quick wedding,
-  rosary – becoming a priest or nun.
 
We also pour wax through a key hole into a bowl of water. Later we check the shadow it casts on the wall. It tells us our future.

Friday 29 November 2013

Quiz answers


1.  Warszawa (warsaw)

2.  Wisla

3.  About 38.5 million people

4.  White eagle on the red rock

5.  Red and white

6.  President: Bronislaw Komorowski Prime minister: Donald Tusk

7.  1983 Lech Walesa

8.  They are pies and to be more exact boiled semicircular dumplings

9.  European football championships

10.          Nicholas Copernicus

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Answers to questions about Finland

Answers to questions about Finland:

1. When is the Independence Day of Finland? 
Independence Day of Finland is at sixth of December.

2. What is the population of Finland? 
The population of Finland is 5,414 million.

3. What are the colours of the Finnish flag? 
The colours  of the Finnish flag are blue and white.


4. What is the national bird of Finland? 
National  bird of Finland is Swan.

5. Who is the president of Finland?
President of Finland is Sauli Niinistö.


6. What is a moomin? 
Moomin is heroes in comic Moomin.
These comics are published in Finland.

7. How many lakes are there in Finland?
In Finland are 187888 lakes.

8. When did Finland win the hockey world championship?
Finland win the hokey world championship.

9. What is the famous finnish phone company?
The very famous phone is Nokia.

10. What is "Mämmi"?
Mämmi is Finnish Easter dessert.
It's eat with milk or cream and sugar.

Postcards from Finland

Monday 11 November 2013

Quiz about Poland


1. What is the capital city of Poland?

2. What is the longest river in Poland?

3. What is the population of Poland?

4. What is the national emblem of Poland?

5. What are the colours of Polish flag?

6. Who is the president and prime minster of Poland?

7. Which Pole received a Nobel Peace prize and when?

8. What are “pierogi”?

9. What important international sports event took place in 2012 in Poland?

10. Who was a famous Polish astronomer that “stopped the Sun”?

Sunday 10 November 2013

Independence Day in Poland - 11th November

INDEPENDENCE DAY IS A VERY IMPORTANT HOLIDAY FOR EVERY POLE.
MANY PEOPLE TAKE PART IN DEMONSTRATIONS AND MARCHES.
 
 
 
LOTS OF SOLIDERS GIVE A NATIONAL SALUTE BY FIRING UP TO THE SKY
TO CELEBRATE DEAD POLISH SOLDIERS. IT'S A TYPE OF ENSHRINE.
 

 

 
 
So why do we celebrate Independence Day?


 
 

11 th NOVEMBER 1918 POLAND REGAINED TRADITIONS AND THE COUNTRY.
AND NOW WE'RE FREE.

by Megi and Natalia