Finnish Juhannus (Midsummer)

Before I share how I spent my first Juhannus here in Finland, I first want to say...  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom.   I am grateful for her commitment to her faith and to her family.  I wish she could have been here to celebrate her birthday in Finnish style.  Since she couldn't be here, though, I thought I'd post more pics than I normally do so that she can experience as much of it as my internet stick will let me upload.  :)

This was my first time to celebrate Juhannus (midsummer) in Finland.  (Note: Midsummer is celebrated on the longest day of the year which is usually on June 23rd or 24th.)  Maria, my flatmate, invited me to spend the summer festivities with her and her family in Pyhäsalmi which is…

180 km north of Jyväskylä.  I wanted to take a picture of this sign but we never walked passed it at the right time.  Maria snapped a shot of the sign while on the bus headed back to Jyväskylä.

Top 10 things to do during Juhannus are...(Note: Ranking systems are 'no bueno' because you're forced to choose between too many bests...which is why there's no real rhyme or reason to the order except that I sandwich 8 of the 10 best things between two of the best'est' things (#10 and #1)).

 

#10: Lettu.  Need I say more?

#9: Makkara. (Sausage).  These puppies were stuffed with black pepper and feta cheese.

#8: Smoked sauna.  I wasn't sure what 'smoked' in smoked sauna meant.  When asked, friends would say, "It's the best kind of sauna.  Just go try it."  Perhaps I'm breaking a norm by telling y'all what it really is.  But your eyes and lungs will thank  me.  Smoked sauna means non-ventilated sauna.  Read: they close the vent so that all the smoke from the wood, fire, and steam stays inside.  With you.  If you want to know how my eyes and lungs felt about that experience, well, just check out the pic of me making lettu above.  Eyes: burn.  Lungs: burn.  Camera: burn.  (Maria attributes this pic to me moving the camera while taking the pic.  But, not so!!  This is REALLY how it looks when you're inside smoked sauna.)  I'll stick with the smoke-less sauna, kiitos.

 #7: Kokko. Bonfire!  Gig 'em Ags!  

#6: Work.  To build the kokko, the mini-kokko. (Please excuse the very candid pic here.)  Maria and her sisters and I built the small fireplace (and fire) using bricks and stones we gathered from around the rolling lawns and lakeshore.  Here we are roasting all kind of goodness!

#5: Relax. In hammocks, swings and on rocks (overlooking the lake).

#4: Ruoka.  And lots of it!  (Grilled corn is, um, to die for.  The chicken wings preferred to be cooked over the real kokko.  Funny story behind the chicken and rice meal.  Maria's grandmother asked me one morning, "What would be your last meal if you knew you were going to die?" Me: "Chicken and rice."  Guess what was on the menu for lunch that day?  Yep.  I swear--Finns are trying to kill me.  Remember the poisonous mushrooms they tried to feed me?  :) )  Lastly, if you're wondering what I'm holding in the last picture, I'll give $1 to anyone who can guess it right.

...

Jäätello.

...

Ice cream.  

Cut from a block.

Served on a spoon.

Brilliant, if I do say so myself.  Kept it from sliding all over the plate.

#3: Sleep.  I came down with a very strong cold the day before we left for Pyhäsalmi.  Maria made me a tea made out of 1/2 dried chilis, ginger, lemon juice, and honey.  When we got to Pyhäsalmi, her grandma brought in the herbal army.  Drops, herbal teas, fresh ginger chewed on all day (and night).  She even brought out the biggest gun: fresh onion.  I wasn't ready to chew on 1/4 slice of a fresh onion.  That was a bit too much for me.  But, I did take the ginger.  Basically, you use fresh ginger as a chewing tobacco.  I'm not sure how else to describe it.  I slept a good 14-16 hours.  It definitely lessened the length of the cold.  And Maria's grandma chewed on 1/4 slice of an onion all day to prevent herself from getting sick.  It seemed to have worked.  She didn't get sick.

The funniest part?  Later this week I asked Maria if she had a natural remedy for congestion.  She gave me this super wry look and I said, "Let me guess.  Stick a slice of onion up your nose."  That's TOTALLY what her grandma has them do.  I'm happy to report that I, again, opted for plan B: breathing in steam from boiling water with some sort of herbal drops.

#2: Time outdoors to admire the summer foliage. Maria picked a dozen or so dandelions and made a wish.  We had a "The Sound of Music" moment when we saw this beautiful hill come alive with a sheep dog racing up and down a path she created.  We picked fresh strawberries from Maria's dad's strawberry farm. Enjoyed lettu and makkara by the bridge down the hill from Maria's grandma's elementary school. And we picked 7 different kinds of flowers at 12am on midsummer night (check out how light it is outside...this pic was taken with no flash).  They say if you put them under your pillow on midsummer night, you'll see your future husband/wife in your dreams.  Hmm...

And #1: Spending time with family and friends...

and remembering family and friends who have gone on.

We visited the cemetary where Maria's great-grandparents are buried.

We went to see Maria's grandma's elementary school.  Maria's grandma wanted to show Maria and me the bridge behind the school.  That's where we found the BBQ pit (and wood that is there for anyone to use to cook lettu and makkara).  We decided to come back the next day to enjoy the beautiful weather, view, and put the wood to great use!

We climbed trees...

and broke into abandoned houses.  Well, it's technically not breaking and entering because it was Maria's great-grandma's house.  Maria's g'ma is wearing a bee 'hat' that she used to keep away the mosquitoes.  I'm seriously considering investing in one of those.  The mosquitoes are out of control!!!

And we played a game similar to 'kick the ball' with Maria's siblings and cousins.  That was a BLAST!! 

Maria's grandma has her own microfiche machine.  She was so excited to show me all the family history she's done.  The first question she asked me after I told her my great-grandparents were from Finland was, "What were their last names?"  That should have been my clue that I'd find this microfiche machine in her study.  She and my mom would hit it off great!!  I grew up in family history libraries watching my mom using these machines (and microfilm readers, too).

So, that's how Finns celebrate Juhannus.  Thank you Maria and Sisar Kassinen for a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable Juhannus!!  Can't wait to do it all again next year!! Hopefully this time with my mom!!  :)

 Other adventures these last two weeks:

We had the missionaries and some friends over for dinner.

Maria spent the last week packing for her move to Tampere.   She'll be there for a month and then will start school at the end of August either in Kuopio or Lahti.  She gave me her bed and desk along with linens and all sort of other goodies.  Seriously?!  She is so generous.

It's hard to say goodbye to such an amazing (which is why she's making this face...she denies hwo great she is!) Finnish flatmate and friend.  

(Here we are at the train station).  

It was really touching to see this guy run alongside the train as he was sending off his daughter.  He ran the entire length of the platform.  Aww!!  So sweet!!

I said goodbye to my dear officemate, Katja.  She made a cake for everyone to share together.  (It seems that here in Finland, the person who leaves is the one who puts together a celebration.  Two other Finnish friends of mine said that they were making something special on their last days at work, too.  In the US, it's typically the co-workers who make something for the person leaving.)  She is taking some time off to prepare for her upcoming move to Russia.  I will miss her dearly!!!!

Having had to say goodbye to two dear friends this week, I was grateful to have discovered three things to help ease the pain:

#1. You can see the sunset through buildings.  A sunset (about 12:45am) through the windows of the Lhyty building designed by Alvar Aalto.  (Note: this picture was taken from outside.  You're seeing the sunset through two sets of windows.)

#2: Lettu and makkara can be found IN the city, not just in summer cottages.  And...not only is this place in the city, it's directly across the street from the JYU library.  And it's open until 2am during the week and 5am on the weekends.  D a n g e r o u s . 

#3: I am--I mean, I is--, I mean I am smarter than Word.  Really?!  Really.

Next week I'll be on the western coast of Finland helping out at Girls Camp.  Can't wait to report on my first adventures camping on the seashore in Finland!