Calgary Finlandia Cultural Association

Happy St. Urho’s Day to all! Make sure to celebrate this truly Finnish-Canadian/Finnish-American holiday today.

If you are unsure as to what St. Urho’s day consists of, visit http://www.sainturho.com/

If you are looking for somewhere to celebrate, you can join some of us at the new Unicorn Pub (formerly Below Deck) on Stephen Ave. (Calgary), starting at 6:30pm this evening. Remember to wear purple and green!

Well, better late than never. Happy belated Kalevala Day, which was officially on February 28th. In honour of this day, I thought I would share a book that I just read. It is JRR Tolkien’s (of “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” fame) short story “The Story of Kullervo”. We have long known that Tolkien was fascinated by the Finnish language and culture, but it has only recently come to light that he actually wrote a short story based on the Kalevala.

http://www.amazon.ca/Story-Kullervo-J-Tolkien-2015-08-27/dp/B0184WDNU4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1457011305&sr=8-2&keywords=story+of+kullervo

This book, released in 2015, includes the short story (never published in Tolkien’s lifetime), along with essays, written by Tolkien and the editor, about the Kalevala. It is a wonderful, quick read, and I definitely recommend it to everyone.

Enjoy!

Meaghan Peuramäki-Brown

A recent episode of Alberta Roots highlighted the history of Finnish peoples in Alberta. Our own CFCA President, Outi McEachern, was interviewed for the segment.

Below is the link for the episode. The section about Finnish Albertans and the interview with Outi starts around the 5:30 mark

http://www.omnitv.ca/on/en/videos/4718900761001/

On December 6th, Finnish people all over the world celebrate their Independence Day (you can read more about this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Declaration_of_Independence).

This year, the CFCA held their celebration and annual Christmas party on Saturday, December 5th, at the Scandinavian Centre. Over 90 people were in attendance, so we had a very full and happy Viking Hall.

Gathering in the Viking Hall

To start the evening, we enjoyed some opening remarks from our association’s president, Ms. Outi McEachern, as well as the Honourary Consul of Finland, Ms. Judith Romanchuk. Following the initial remarks, we were entertained with musical performances by some of our members, then on to drinks and an amazing feast, full of many traditional Finnish holiday dishes.

After supper, we sang some Christmas carols in Finnish and English, and the Little Finns performed the Christmas Classic “Tonttujen jouluyö” for us (you can see a similar version on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYA-R_75Aj8). Then, we had a surprise visit from Joulupukki, who delivered gifts to each of the children.

Little Finns performing.

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What a wonderful time we had, and we are now all looking forward to the holidays and the new year.

Hyvää Joulua from all of us at the CFCA!

For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Calgary-Finlandia-Cultural-Association-194624443904568/photos_stream

Finnish Studies at the University of Toronto needs your help.  To meet their obligations during 2015-2016, the Canadian Friends of Finland Education Foundation (CFFEF), founded in 1990 in support of Finnish Studies at UofT, now needs to raise a minimum of $25,000

You can help by (1) sending in a donation, (2) spreading the word and the link to your friends and acquaintances.

As a donor you can give any amount: $10, $25, $50, $100, $200, $500 or more! 

Canadian donors of $25 or more will receive tax receipts, so please include your name and address with your donation.

Please visit the following website for more information:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/preserve-finnish-studies-at-university-of-toronto#/

On Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, the CFCA hosted a talk about Amerindian loanwords that appear within the Finnish language. Dr. Harri Kettunen is a linguist from the University of Helsinki, and specializes in the native languages of the Americas, in particular those of Middle America. Over 25 CFCA members enjoyed a snack, including some delicious chocolate (a product of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica), while listening to Harri’s discussion of the origins of various words/products, and also engaged in some lively conversation following the presentation. Dr. Kettunen was in Calgary to attend the 48th Chacmool Archaeological Conference at the University of Calgary.

This weekend, the CFCA participated in the Scandinavian Centre’s annual Christmas Bazaar. Once again, the turn out was huge and the event a success. Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to purchase baked goods and crafts from across Scandinavia, as well as Finland. CFCA volunteers helped to sell out all of our delicious baked goods (pulla, piirakka, etc.) in support of the association. Attendees and volunteers also chit chatted while enjoying a lunch of delicious open-faced sandwiches, baked sweets, and coffee. We look forward to next year’s event!