Pyhäinpäivä/All Saints Day/Hallowmas
Candles Photo: blogs.mtu.edu
In Finland, Pyhäinpäivä, (All Saint’s Day or Hallowmas in English), is celebrated at the turning of October to November. There may be some of you who wonder why this holiday was not celebrated on November 1, seeing as how Halloween is celebrated on the 31st of October in the United States; apparently, there is a Finnish habit of celebrating some religious festivals on “the closest Saturday”, which happens in this case to be November 6. This prominent festival, important to Finnish culture, is celebrated by commemorating the departed. According to Finnish history, All Saint’s Day traditionally has two meanings: to honor all saints and to remember those passed over. In turn, All Saint’s Day was originally brought together from two successive celebrations.
In Finland All Saint’s Day is a considered a devout and quiet celebration. All Saints’ Day is typically celebrated by bringing flowers to , and lighting candles on the graves of close relatives. To my surprise, the custom of decorating headstones with candles and flowers was not started until after the Second World War. It was recommended to pay a visit to the churchyard in the evening on All Saints’ Day, as it is supposed to be a beautiful experience. Most Finnish families will visit the churchyard during this day. It is also a popular tradition to attend a church service. All Saints’ Day is the fifth most popular day for Finns to attend religious services.
Lucky for myself and fellow international students, I heard a rumor in class to go to the store right away and buy anything you might need for the weekend. The people that told me were other international students, and had no idea why this was happening, but were frantically passing on this advice. I casually told my friends, and one of my fellow ATLANTIS students told me it was due to All Saint’s Day. Indeed, the next day, All Saint’s Day, shops in Finland were closed. I even found out that the local and regional buses ran on “irregular” timetables.
In Finland there is not a tradition for children going door-to-door for tricks or treats on All Hallows Eve, such as Halloween in the United States. During my research, I discovered that the closest holiday tradition in Finland, to an American Halloween, is when children dress up like witches on Palm Sunday, and go from door-to-door collecting sweets – very interesting! In asking around.
In honor of Pyhäinpäivä, click here to enjoy Oi kallis Suomenmaa (which translates to ‘Oh Precious Finland’ in English). This is a traditional Finnish song that was played frequently at funerals during World War II. There are English subtitles and beautiful Finnish scenery as well!
Happy Hallowmas!
Written by :Kassidy
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In Finland All Saint’s Day is a considered a devout and quiet celebration. All Saints’ Day is typically celebrated by bringing flowers to , and lighting candles on the graves of close relatives. To my surprise, the custom of decorating headstones with candles and flowers was not started until after the Second World War. It was recommended to pay a visit to the churchyard in the evening on All Saints’ Day, as it is supposed to be a beautiful experience. Most Finnish families will visit the churchyard during this day. It is also a popular tradition to attend a church service. All Saints’ Day is the fifth most popular day for Finns to attend religious services.
Lucky for myself and fellow international students, I heard a rumor in class to go to the store right away and buy anything you might need for the weekend. The people that told me were other international students, and had no idea why this was happening, but were frantically passing on this advice. I casually told my friends, and one of my fellow ATLANTIS students told me it was due to All Saint’s Day. Indeed, the next day, All Saint’s Day, shops in Finland were closed. I even found out that the local and regional buses ran on “irregular” timetables.
In Finland there is not a tradition for children going door-to-door for tricks or treats on All Hallows Eve, such as Halloween in the United States. During my research, I discovered that the closest holiday tradition in Finland, to an American Halloween, is when children dress up like witches on Palm Sunday, and go from door-to-door collecting sweets – very interesting! In asking around.
In honor of Pyhäinpäivä, click here to enjoy Oi kallis Suomenmaa (which translates to ‘Oh Precious Finland’ in English). This is a traditional Finnish song that was played frequently at funerals during World War II. There are English subtitles and beautiful Finnish scenery as well!
Happy Hallowmas!
Written by :Kassidy