Weird Finnish Traditions
This is a final project by a participant of the Spanish Language Assistant Programme who wishes to show off a tiny bit of the famous northern crazy in order to encourage debate on different traditions, the changes they are going through and the meaning of traditions in general.
Buckle up folks, we’re headed to Finland!
Note for teachers: the project you’re about to read comprises four weird, funny, entertaining and hopefully thought-provoking traditions from my home country. Together they form a lesson plan for one 45-minute learning session designed for 5th and 6th-grade Social Sciences. The goal is to promote cultural diversity and spark up conversation about the meaning of traditions, culture and cultural differences in the classroom.
To navigate the site click any tradition. You can enter the pages in any desired order. Each tradition page includes a description, audiovisual material, debate questions and homework ideas.
***In March 2020 an update was done to introduce homework suitable for 4th-graders in all of the four parts of the lesson plan, that can be introduced in a simpler language with the help of the audiovisual support offered on every page.***
***In January 2021 another update was introduced to make the presentation suitable for 2nd-graders.***
Sneaking with a bucket
Do you do any sports? Yes I do, I sneak with my bucket!
Molybdomancy & New Year’s Eve
Telling the future the Finnish way
Mosquito Swatting Championship
From summer survival skill to a famous competition
Bathing like a Finn
What are you doing? I’m swimming in a frozen lake!
Final note: when someone is determined to keep on doing something, no matter how weird it might seem to others, we Finns could say they have sisu in them. Sisu is considered by many a characteristic feature in Finns in general. Defined as a combination of perseverance, dignity, determination, purpose and hardiness, sisu is sometimes translated as stick-with-it-ness. Someone with sisu is someone who has guts and won’t give up on what’s important to them. What do you think? In the end, without some sisu, most of us surely wouldn’t keep on competing against a forest full of mosquitos… Read more about it in this BBC article “Sisu: The Finnish Art of Inner Strength”.
And when you hear CAN YOU DO IT?, answer like a Finn: I CAN DO IT!
Weird Finnish Traditions 