Juhannus – Midsummer in Finland

Juhannus (Midsummer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Before 1316, the summer solstice was called Ukon Juhla, (“Ukko's celebration”) after the Finnish God Ukko. In Karelian tradition, many bonfires were burned side by side, the biggest of which was called Ukko-kokko (the “Bonfire of Ukko”). After the celebrations were Christianized, the holiday became known as Juhannus after John the Baptist (Finnish: Johannes Kastaja).

Since 1955, the holiday has always been on a Saturday (between June 20 and June 26). Earlier it was always on June 24. Many of the celebrations of midsummer take place on Midsummer Eve, when many workplaces are closed and shops must close their doors at noon.

In the Finnish midsummer celebration, bonfires (Finnish “kokko”) are very common and are burned at lakesides and by the sea. Often branches from birch trees (“koivu”) are placed on both side of the front door to welcome visitors. Swedish-speaking Finns often celebrate by erecting a midsummer or maypole (Swedish “midsommarstång”, “majstång”). Some Finland Swedes call the holiday Johannes after the Finnish term Juhannus – or more accurately after the Biblical John the Baptist (="Johannes Döparen" in Swedish).

In folk magic, Midsummer was a very potent night and the time for many small rituals, mostly for young maidens seeking suitors and fertility. Will-o'-the-wisps were believed to appear at Midsummer Night, particularly to finders of the mythical “fern in bloom” and possessors of the “fern seed”, marking a treasure. In the old days, maidens would use special charms and bend over a well, naked, in order to see their future husband’s reflection. In another tradition that continues still today, an unmarried woman collects seven different flowers and places them under her pillow to dream of her future husband.

An important feature of the Midsummer in Finland is the white night and the midnight sun. Because of Finland's location spanning around the Arctic Circle the nights near the Midsummer Day are short or non-existent. This gives a great contrast to the darkness of the winter time. The temperature can vary between 0°C (30’F) and +30°C (90’F), with an average of about 20°C (70’F) in the South.

Many Finns leave the cities for Midsummer and spend time in the countryside. Nowadays many spend a few days there, and some Finns take their whole vacation in a cottage. Rituals include bonfires, cookouts, a sauna, and spending time together. Heavy drinking is also associated with the Finnish Midsummer.

Many music festivals of all sizes are organized on the Midsummer weekend. It is also common to start summer holidays on Midsummer Day. For many families the Midsummer is the time when they move to the countryside to their summer cottage by the sea or lake. Midsummer is also a Finnish Flag Day where the flag is hoisted at 6 p.m on Midsummer's Eve and flown all night till 9 p.m the following evening. Finnish Canadians in the New Finland district, Saskatchewan, Canada celebrate Juhannus. 

I personally prefer spending the Midsummer weekend in the city. It's nice and calm when most people really leave the city and go to the summer cottages. The suburb I live in is surrounded by nature. If I have picnic or simply spend time at the river that is next to the house where I live, it feels like I was out in the country.

Midsummer is considered the second biggest celebration in Finland after Christmas. First I was about to write down something about Midsummer myself but the Wikipedia article was so good that I decided to pick the lazy way and simply quote what was said in it.

What's your attitude to life?

Internet is full of all kinds of tests – the more you look for them the more you find them. Today, when I was browsing online, I happened to bump into the following test. I usually don’t even really feel like sharing the results even I ended up taking the tests because the questions are mostly more or less superficial and once the test has been taken it’s been completed. But this one was really nice, so I decided not just to leave it.

The link to the test is: https://psychologies.co.uk/tests/whats-your-attitude-to-life.html

The About Us part of the site says of the page: “Grown up, intelligent and intimate, Psychologies is the only women’s magazine that seeks to enrich your emotional life. It focuses on helping you understand yourself and the world around you, by gathering the latest, most compelling thinking and translating it into personally relevant insight and guidance.” I’m going to have a closer look on that site, as it seems rather interesting.

As I decided to share, I decided to do it thoroughly. So, instead of just sharing the results I got, I decided to share it all – the questions and what I answered. Plus, as this is a blog entry about the topic, I also thought about analyzing what I think about the questions and the answer options and why I picked what I did.

 

Question 1/12:

What gets you up in the morning?

1) Something you’ve been hoping for might happen today

2) You’re keen to sign off on a new work contract

3) You’ve got to earn a living

4) A hunger for new experiences

I chose the fourth because I’m always having expectations of the day but they are realistic even though positive. I think every day is something to offer for us – bigger or smaller but something anyway. The first one is way too optimistic to my taste, the second one seems very hopeful, and the third one seems rather negative – life just being the same old stuff.

 

Question 2/12:

Something you have been planning looks like it might not work out:

1) You give up on it — it just wasn’t meant to be

2) You concentrate all your energies on making it work

3) It doesn’t matter. Plans are always subject to change

4) You look at what is going wrong and try to find ways of salvaging the project

I chose the fourth because I’d like to think what went wrong and why. I’d like to work on whatever the problem was and why it had appeared. It’s always the best to take the bull by the horns and face the things as themselves, let them be good or bad. I would have chosen the second but I guess I’m too much a thinker. If something doesn’t work out I want to ‘discuss it with myself’. In theory, I could have chosen the first but even if I believe in that things happen for a reason I don’t believe in it that strongly. And the third is just way too negative to my taste.

 

Question 3/12:

In life, your aim is to:

1) Follow the path mapped out for you

2) Succeed in doing whatever you want

3) Avoid problems

4) Be yourself

I chose the fourth. I was hesitating between the second and the fourth for a long time but I guess I ended up choosing the fourth because, at the end of the, day it’s very important that I can be what I really am. Sometimes for succeeding to do what I wanted I might have to do something that wasn’t necessarily so much ‘me’. The first one is way too simple to my taste and the third is too negative, as I would always be ready to face the problems throw in my way, no matter what they were.

 

Question 4/12:

Which of the following would best describe your attitude to life?

1) It’s a bed of roses

2) Lust for life

3) It’s a daily grind

4) Life is beautiful

I chose the fourth. I would have chosen the first one but it’s way too optimistic to my taste – the fourth is realistic and it sounds as positive as I consider my attitude. The second seemed a bit too passionate – not so much the real me – and the third one sounds rather negative.

 

Question 5/12:

The first thing you do when you wake up in the morning is:

1) See what the weather’s like

2) Gather your strength

3) Put your head straight back under the duvet

4) Take a deep breath of fresh air

I seem to be for the fours in this test. Somehow, I think the fourth one is a metaphor describing of my first action of the day. I would lie there in bed for a moment and just take a deep breath and think about a new day to begin. The morning is always ‘fresh’ in bed in the morning when you wake up. The second one would mean I had to force myself to get out of bed. And if I ever picked the third there’d be no hope left for me yet. If I checked the weather, it didn’t please me, and I started complaining, it wouldn’t give a good start for the day, so that’s why I’d not go for the first one either. The weather doesn’t make the day good or bad at the end of the day even if you disliked rain or humidity – it’s what the day is and becomes like.

 

Question 6/12:

You are at a conference where a great explorer is telling his/her life story:

1) You listen, wide-eyed

2) You admire his/her strength and resilience

3) You think how thrilling some people’s lives are

4) You want to ask lots of questions

I chose the fourth. I’m curious – but not in a nasty or negative way – and I have a great will to learn. Whenever I can learn from others’ experiences I don’t miss the chance. The first one sounds like someone never had met a person with such experience, the second sounds way too modest, and the third sounds negative – simply so to my taste.

 

Question 7/12:

Life can be summed up as:

1) Following pre-laid tracks

2) A struggle

3) A journey through a dark tunnel

4) A voyage of discovery and adventure

Life is definitely a voyage of discovery and adventure! So, it’s needless to even say which one I chose. Even if I’ve had to struggle a lot in my life I would never call my life a struggle – and you can be sure I would have a lot of reason to do so! But if I did I should be ashamed of having such a negative attitude! I would also never consider myself wandering in a dark tunnel even if sometimes it feels like I was – in those sad and blue days. There also has to be a little bit of surprise and spontaneous things in life – that’s why I wouldn’t choose the first one.

 

Question 8/12:

If there is an obstacle in your path, you:

1) Wait until it goes away

2) Kick it aside

3) Squeeze past it

4) Ask yourself what you’re going to do about it

The choice based on a similar logic to the 2/12. I chose the fourth because I would like to sit down and think what I should do to go for the second part. The second one would be okay but there was no thinking – there was just kicking. But I want to learn from my decisions.

 

Question 9/12:

You are watching 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' and the contestant has just won £1,000,000. You think:

1) They’re so lucky

2) Well, at least I’ve worked for my money

3) That would never happen to me

4) How do you get on the program?

This is definitely the black sheep question of the quiz and my answer will be one too. I chose the second because I’m proud of the fact that I have my own income and my own money. It’s not that I’d be envious but because I’m realistic. Basically, there’s no problem with any of the options. Someone winning million dollars in a TV program would be lucky and I wouldn’t mind giving it a try if I managed to get into the program. I wouldn’t choose the third though – it’s too negative, so that it would suit to my way of thinking.

 

Question 10/12:

You see a woman crying in the street. When you talk to her, she says life isn’t worth living. You:

1) Tell her not to worry. Everything will work itself out in the end

2) Tell her she must fight back, whatever it takes

3) Commiserate with her

4) Tell her to cheer up, she’ll get through this

If I was in such trouble and I had collapsed in the street I would sooner or later pull myself together and follow the second choice. Sometimes life throws shit in your way but then you just need to fight back. I would also do the other three options but not as much as the second.

 

Question 11/12:

Your horoscope says that you will meet a new love in the next few months. You think:

1) Right, I’ll settle in for the wait

2) I’ll find love when I choose

3) That’s nonsense

4) I hope he/she comes along soon

As simple as it is, I may be a bit superstitious with some things but I would not let the horoscope get my life in any kind of order. This was a hard question though because it’s not exactly so either that I would just fall in love when I wanted – it would actually be very hard to find the one that was Mr. Right. I’d not go for the first one but the third one is too negative. And the fourth one is too hopeful, which is why I chose the second one.

 

Question 12/12:

On New Year’s Eve your thoughts turn to:

1) What’s in store for me in the coming year

2) Don’t take your foot off the pedal

3) Another year bites the dust

4) What a great year I’ve had

This was another hard question to pick a choice because I see this from more than one aspect. I would already be thinking of the upcoming year, as I’m always thinking about the future – things both in the short and long term. If it had been good I wouldn’t take my foot off the pedal. But I would also recall the year that was about to end – mostly I consider my life is good, so there’d be always something to go back and think of. The third option is the only one I wouldn’t choose – it’d be way too negative to my taste. But perhaps I’d end up picking the fourth. Perhaps for the honor of the year ending I’d rather recall the current year than forgetting it way too prematurely.

 

The result I got from the test doesn’t actually need too much explaining. I agree with what it says. The headline crystallizes it all by saying, “You live for the love of life itself.” I would just point out the part, “You take the starring role in your life.” That is definitely true. I do not please others, so that I’d be accepted. If I’m not good enough in the way I am then perhaps I simply don’t need the people to be around me who can’t take me in the way I am.

“If someone asked you what made you tick, you would say that it was simply the joy of living. You are in love with life and everything that it can bring, and you throw yourself into it 100 per cent. You like to be out in front. You have a natural desire to press ahead, a desire to discover new things and you follow your chosen path with real drive. You rarely move in the wrong direction for long and you are proactive about change. You are in control and you run your life with a good deal of creative energy. You take the starring role in your life. You strive to know yourself, to be true to yourself and to live in harmony with others. Behind these attitudes is a keen sense of self, the basis of which might be narcissistic, but it brings its own rewards. Your own inner stability means that you are free to turn your attention to the needs of others whenever you need to. You know how to get the most out of everything that you do, both retaining a childlike wonder at the world and developing an adult sense of when action and strength are required. If there is one thing you could do, it would be to share your joie de vivre with others; one smile from you might be all somebody else needs to get back on their feet.”

Stuck between a rock and a hard place

June has begun. But just on the second day of the first summer month a big set-back was thrown on my way. I have been pretty blue for the whole day – and I’m sure the more I dwell on the issue the less easy I feel.

I had an appointment with my eye doctor today. I had the appointment at 8:15 a.m., so the first thing that annoyed me quite a bit was that I had to wait for nearly one and a half hours before I got in. When I had waited for a bit more than an hour I went to ask what in the earth was going on – that it was really unfair to let me wait for that long. The lady was surprised that I had even come in. Another lady who had checked me in hadn’t actually done it which is why they didn’t know I was there.

The cornea transfer was done in October 2012. In November 2013, the stitches were removed after the 12-month-long healing process. In June last year, the doctor said for the first time that there was a little bit of swelling in the cornea. They don’t know for 100% sure what has caused it but most probably the reason is that the eye itself has been operated for so many times in my entire life that it’s not in a very good condition anymore.

A year ago, the cornea specialists speculated that the eye might not be strong enough to carry through the 12-month-long healing process – and slowly, its bad condition might start making the cornea bad too. Even since last summer, every time I’ve had an appointment with the doctor I’ve been told there’s a little bit of swelling. And that makes the doctors worried.

Another speculation is that the cortisone eye drops might cause the swelling. But that things weren’t simple at all, I have not been allowed to give up using them because they prevent the cornea to start rejecting. I’ve read of that in addition to that I’ve been told about that by several cornea specialists. Sometimes I feel I’m so aware of the eye stuff that I could easily get into the Faculty of Medicine.

The doctors have hinted at the idea of a new transfer but it’s not been considered seriously. Today the doctor finally said she would get me into the line of the new cornea transfer because there’s been swelling in the cornea for about a year now.

“No way!” That was the first reaction of mine. I asked her if there really wouldn’t be any other options but to go through the same process again. She said the swelling cannot be reduced in any other way but going for a cornea transfer.

I’m not a doctor but there’s nothing wrong with my common sense and logical way of thinking. She invited another cornea specialist in because I demanded answers. I think I was so much on edge for the whole situation that she didn’t dare to refuse.

I expressed my speculation and asked if I was right: “So, if I go through another cornea transfer what is the possibility that the eye can’t make the 12-month-long healing process again and the same will happen that has now happened?” They said it’s about 80-20 – but in my case even less for me. “So, how senseless would it to operate the eye again if it most probably wouldn’t out at the end of the day?” They had no answer for me – they even didn’t agree to do any ‘iffing’.

I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. And I’m stuck very badly. If I go through a new transfer it will fail most probably – even the doctors have expressed it. Plus, every surgery will strain the eye and make it weaker. And it’s already weak now. But if I don’t go for a new transfer there’ll be swelling in the current cornea. And there’s no way to get rid of it.

The only comfort in the situation is that the eye is calm and the cornea hasn’t started rejecting. Even if there’s swelling in the current cornea I can’t feel or notice it in practice anyhow. Just the doctors see it when they examine the eye and do the tests.

Each time in the appointment I’m asked if the eye has been calm, if the sight has been clear, if there has been pain, or if the eye is sore, I’ve said none to all of that because that’s the way it is. But could the swelling injure the eye in the long term? No one knows. How many surgeries could the eye put up with? No one knows.

There’ve been a lot of issues for me to go through in the past 13 months. Sometimes it feels that when I beat one issue there’s another that takes its place. I know that doesn’t sound like me at all – instead, that sounds blue and negative which is least typical to me.

A few entries ago I wrote about the five meaningful songs. I wrote about a song by Chris LeDoux that has helped me to struggle through some heavy issues. I just have to try and find a way how to ‘cowboy up’ this time too. But at least at the moment, I have a feeling it won’t be easy.

The doctors cannot force me to go through another transfer. So, the choice is mine. But as well as the choice is mine, so is the responsibility. The whole thing makes me feel completely lost – and pretty helpless too.

Cats – those funny little sweethearts

I was thinking about my two little babies this morning when I gave them food. Garfield is going to turn eight in a month. And Kenneth will be five in one and a half months. Gosh, where have the years passed?! How are they already so old?! I can still remember the day when both of them moved in. And now especially Garfield is getting old.

It was a true wake-up call when Kenneth got sick with the kidney inflammation in February. I realized how important they are to me when I was sure before the first vet visit that I’d have to put him asleep and I’d lose him. I’m really grateful the course of antibiotics helped and the vet could come up with a solution that healed him.

My cats are very sociable. They are like my very own kids. Silly or not but often when I ‘socialize’ with them I can imagine what they would say to me if they could speak. I can see it of the look on their faces and what their appearance is like. I can see when they are comfy, when they are grumpy, when they are upset, and when they are worn-out. I really can.

Garfield is very much after me. He always sleeps in the room where I’m in. If I suddenly go to another room he gets up and follows me. Then he sets himself to sleep there. He always comes to the entrance when I come home. He swarms around me, purrs, and butts my feet with his head. Then there’s a ritual that he wants to do every time I come home from somewhere. He wants me to bend down, so that he can smell the area between my nose and mouth. He wants to smell if I’ve eaten something.

I also love following their activities. A good example is what happened this morning when I fed my cats. Kenneth is really a funny case when it comes to eating. He has such a great appetite that it keeps amazing me. But even if he eats about three times as much as Garfield he weighs eight pounds while Garfield weighs eleven pounds. Both of them are slim because I watch what I feed to them.

I gave them canned tuna this morning. It’s one of their favorites. I put the tuna on two plates and to Kenneth I gave about 2/3 of the can. Garfield ate about half of what I gave him but Kenneth ate it all. At some point, he started seeming full but. He started stretching his limbs and looking around. But he didn’t finish eating. He always smacks his mouth when he’s eating – he really enjoys when there’s good food available.

When he had eaten all the tuna that was on the plate he started glancing at Garfield’s plate. Garfield usually eats a bit and goes away. But then he would come back to eat a bit more. Usually it happens though that when he comes back his food has disappeared, thanks to Kenneth. I call him ‘an arrogant pig’ because of that, lol! And when I notice that having happened I say to Garfield, “Sorry buddy but your food has gone to ‘a better mouth’,” as the saying goes in Finnish.

Kenneth tries to sneak in to Garfield’s plate in secret. He thinks I don’t see it even if I was in the same room. But when he sees me glaring at him he steps back. If he was a person he would probably whistle innocently and look away like he had really done nothing and he was there just by chance. When I turn my head away he starts sneaking in to the plate again. It’s really a lot of fun to watch him doing that. And he definitely does not do that because he was hungry. He does that because he’s gotten the great appetite.

Garfield is a very wise cat. He can open the windows and doors unless they are locked. He always comes like a dog when I call his name. I love making walks with him out there. He walks on the leash like dogs do. And we both enjoy nature, the forest, the river, and all that when we go out there. He’s very curious about the dogs. He’s also fine with them unless they do the fatal mistake dogs normally do. If they mistake to smell his but he tries to smash their faces in, bless the dogs!

I am a cat person thoroughly. And I’m blessed to have two really wonderful cats. They are sociable, they have ‘good manners’, and they are two true sweethearts. What is also really amazing is that they get along very well. When Kenneth moved in it was like there’d been a war between them for two weeks. Garfield teased Kenneth and Kenneth was so small that he didn’t really know how to defend himself. But then they suddenly became best friends. And they still are.

I have to raise my hat to Garfield though. Just two months before Kenneth moved in I moved to my own place. He had been taken away from his ‘home’. Then there was suddenly a weird little creature that was sharing the same food bowls and the same litter box. But he accepted both of the things like ‘a real man’. It was surely an A performance!