Finn news

As I write these words, the year 2019 is almost completed. Another year come and gone, another chapter in history lived, experienced, recorded.

Since there is not much happening in January, the coldest month of the year for us in the Northland, I don’t have much to share about Finn events so I figured I would bring you something to think about, to contemplate on during these wintery days ahead.

As I look back on this past year, I think to myself, “What did I learn? What have I done? What am I leaving for future generations?” I’ve been applying these questions to myself, to see what the year’s events in the Finnish community in northeastern Minnesota has brought to me, personally, and to my family and friends. The answers to these questions are ultimately the reasons for life. They are also the questions that shape the goals, hopes, dreams, and plans for the upcoming days and years that God grants to me. I encourage you to take a few minutes to also look for the answers in your life and then apply them to your goals for the new year.

Family ties

“What did I learn?”

Well, I learned a variety of things this past year. Of major importance, I learned more about my Finnish family history, those Finns of generations ago from whom I received my DNA, my life. As I read of their courage and SISU in facing and overcoming the challenges in their lives, things I have never had and hope never to have to face, I gain the strength and hope and perseverance I need to face the challenges that life does throw at me. Reading of their SISU helps to support and strengthen my SISU.

“What have I done?”

By attending a wide variety of events throughout the year, I experienced and learned so much about my Finnish heritage. I experienced music and art and crafts and history and culture, all without having to actually go to Finland or take classes about Finnish things. I joined my voice with other Finns in song and word. I reached out my hands to help create arts and crafts to beautify my and others’ lives. I expanded my knowledge and shared in the appreciation of our Finnish history and culture. Through all of these experiences, I became a part of history, not only my own, but also the history and memories of others.

Immersing others

“What am I leaving for future generations?”

I have tried to bring my children, grandchildren, friends, and relatives to as many Finnish events throughout the year as I could. Sometimes I was successful, sometimes not. However, those I dragged to events, albeit unwillingly, did enjoy their experiences and hopefully learned something that is now part of their history. Many times for others, they don’t know what they should know until they are brought to it. Then they learn and appreciate, and it gives them a thirst and hunger to learn more and more and even more about their Finnish heritage.

It is wonderful when we leave “things” for the generations behind us. But what is even better is when we help them learn the stories behind those things, help them become excited to learn more, help them to experience the desire and satisfaction of creating and becoming a part of the living history of our Finnish-American culture and life. That, to me, is the essence of what we should leave for future generations. If we don’t help instill the excitement and desire in them, then those items of history, those items we make or pass on, lose their value, their importance, their historical stories. They become just “things” that are eventually forgotten in the shuffle of life.

Small moments

At this time, I want to tell you about something that really touched me, that made me think about these three questions. This story is about something so little, something most people would not even pay attention to. This story is about one small part of the recent Pikkujoulu held at Kaleva Hall in Virginia. It was a quiet evening but a festive one in which we were able to greet and visit with Finnish friends we have not seen for a long time. The food was great, the conversation was joyous, the entertainment was delightful and Christmassy.

Sounds like a standard Christmas party, right? So what was the little thing that really touched me? The video they showed at the end, the movie of the Pikkujoulu held at Kaleva Hall in 1987. Why did this create such an impact on me? Because of what this group did back then.

The main entertainment shown in the video was the Finnish dance group dancing around the Christmas tree. What they did was so wonderful! They performed a typical Finnish group folk dance that had just a few moves repeated over and over, all to wonderful Finnish folk music. After the dance was done, the men of the group pulled females, from young girls to grown women, from the audience to come and dance with them. The movements were simple, the dancers were hand-in-hand so no one got lost, the easy steps were repeated over and over, and the dance didn’t last long. Easy steps repeated to remember. Excitement shown in the learning!

The second dance was done the same way, but with different moves and different music. Just a few steps repeated several times. Then the ladies of the dance group grabbed young boys and grown men to come and dance. After seeing the reluctance of the first audience participants turn into joy and excitement, the second group went willingly and happily. I could see the eagerness on their faces, and it spread throughout the audience.

The third dance went the same way. Different moves, different music, simple steps repeated. This time, the audience had hands up begging to be picked to dance. They had seen the joy. They were part of the excitement. They were learning and experiencing.

This 1987 program not only showed something, but it also passed the experiences to others, especially to the next generations. This program, I’m sure, gave many the hunger to learn more about Finnish dances, the courage to try the dances at home or at other events, the thirst to hear and enjoy more Finnish music.

They weren’t just given the “things,” the exhibition of Finnish dancers doing the dances. They were also given the stories, the excitement, the desire. That 1987 evening was a wonderful, heady experience for those who were “just watching.” I’m sure it was an experience that none of them ever forgot.

As we begin a new year, a new decade, may we all remember these questions as we plan our year’s goals and resolutions, events and experiences. May we remember to not only do and learn, but also to share with others, especially upcoming generations. The best we can give them is to help them learn the importance of our Finnish ancestry, to help foster in them the excitement and joy of learning and experiencing, and to help create in them the hunger to learn more about our Finnish heritage and to do more in the Finnish community.

Have a blessed, joyous, productive, and exciting New Year to come. And bring your family and friends along to enjoy the experiences on the ride.