Today is Finland's Independence Day

Today is Finland's Independence Day. Being 51% Finnish, I am filled with excitement and reflection. The ways I've celebrated it include:

As a child, we placed candles in the windows on Dec. 6. and put up our tree and sang Joulu Puu on Rakennettu, and ate my Mother's pulla, joulu torttuja and pippakakkuja while singing Porsaita Aiti . . . The tree still stays up through Loppiainen Jan. 6.

When I lived in Finland, I remember attending a fireside at the LDS chapel each year. I don't know if they still do this, because I understand that other Finns developed false perceptions wondering why the Mormon Finns weren't home between 5-7 p.m. burning a white and a blue candle in their windows like other Finns, as is tradition. :) They were however at church celebrating Finland's Independence. The firesides were very patriotic and inspiring.

As young adult, I enjoyed watching my parents dress up in White Tie and Evening Gown to attend the Independence Ball in Helsinki. It's was the Who's Who party of the year. It looks like Helsingin Sanomat http://www.hs.fi/, will have a blog going here shortly commenting on who is in attendance and what they are wearing.

Living in the Bay Area, an RM (returned missionary) always invited us over for a Pikku Joulu near the 6th to sing Finnish Christmas songs to the elderly Finnish saints in his ward. He even taught his wife and their kids how to sing them in Finnish!