Twofaced Stubbornness

Picture by Erkki Jauhiainen

          Katumajärvi is a beautiful lake near where my mother grew up. The name translates literally into 'Lake Regret' or 'Lake Penitence'. According to legend, aka my grandma, the name has its roots deep in history. Back in the day, everything was apparently great. You have to understand, that for a Finn, the definition of 'great' involves independence from both Sweden and Russia. As long as they're not in the picture, and we beat them in ice hockey, we're pretty content. 
           Towards the end of the first millennia AD, the Swedes started to convert into Christianity. It seems that for awhile they had been trying to come up with an reason to expand to the East. Their new religion gave them the perfect excuse to hop over the Baltic Sea into Finland, and start to convert the evil pagan Finns. The story according to grandma goes, that the Swedes would force people to convert into Christianity, and to be baptized. Seeing an army with superior weapons, the Finns obliged, for the most part. But, as soon as the Swedes would leave, the locals would head to this particular lake, wash off the baptism, and go on with their old evil pagan lives. There is some truth to the last part, there is evidence of a crusade into Finland lead by Birger Jarl, a Swedish statesman, in mid 1200s because people in this particular area were relapsing into the old beliefs and practices. 

Picture by Google Earth       

           Knowing my family and relatives makes this story believable. We're stubborn, have a strong, independent streak, and are slow to adopt new things. We're naturally shy and suspicious of new people, especially of the Russians and the Swedes. And all those other foreigners. Finding stories of defiance is easy. It's in our genes. 

Picture by Juuso Kurvinen 

All the historical information is from Suomen Kansallismuseo, or the Finnish National Museum, a very interesting and worthy place to visit, if you're ever in the neighborhood. The website with the information is http://www.nba.fi/fi/kansallismuseo/opetus/opetuspaketit/esihistoria/tietoa/rautakausi

Their page in English is http://www.nba.fi/en/nationalmuseum

Oh Mercy

On the left is Tuittu, in the middle is Effe, and on the right is me back when I was still skinny.

This picture was taken by a random bystander at a shopping center. Most likely they would have been there to do their Christmas shopping. It is nothing but a snap shot by someone who is an amateur. The picture was taken to preserve a memory for the people in it. When I look at it, a thousand emotions go through my head. I get homesick. These two women are my friends. I have known them all of my life. I love them and miss them. 

This was taken just before Christmas when I was still in high school, in early or mid 1990s. We were poor. To make some money, and to spread some Christmas cheer I guess, we went to a shopping center to sing as street artists. Our group was perfect. Effe is a soprano. Her voice is like a flute. She could sing the bits that I wanted to, but couldn't. Tuittu is also a soprano, but a lower one. Her voice is like a songbird. I was the whisky base of the group. I have never been able to sing high notes, even though I always wanted to. With these ladies, it didn't matter, we complemented each other well. Together we could sing in perfect harmony. We sounded good. 

Instead of the same old versions of the same old songs, we sang from a book "Carols for Christmas" by Metropolitan Museum of Art. The arrangements and the art work were influenced by Renaissance. The combination is beautiful. We also sang a song called 'Dormi Jesu'. I found the music to it at the music academy library by accident. This shopping mall concert was not monetarily very profitable, but I loved doing it anyway. 

When I look at the picture, my eye goes first to our faces. We look like we're having a good time, and we did. The faces are right in the middle of the picture, so it is natural to look at them first. The back ground is a fabric store. We were assigned this spot by the shopping center. I think we would have chosen a more central location to earn more money. 

The picture was taken with a regular camera, on a regular film. It has not been edited in any way. I am the owner of the picture, and I think there is only one paper copy of it. I have no idea what happened to the negative, it's been too long, and it was taken in a different country. I keep it in my photo album that I look through when I'm especially homesick. As of today, it has never been published anywhere. Today it will be on Facebook and on this blog, so that all of our old friends can share it with us.