Kids enjoying snow. 12/3/1949 in Tampere. Photo: Aamulehti, Tampereen museoiden kuva-arkisto.


NOMEN EST OMEN!

Everyone's perfectly still and quiet. Parents are 'shhh'ing their toddlers, and we're all relying on the pastor's clear annunciation. Here it comes: Lumi Marja Kirsikka. We all heard it – and we nod approvingly. What a beautiful name! (Unfortunately, the English translation doesn't do justice to the beauty of the soft vowel-filled syllables combined with a couple of consonants,  'r', 's' and 'k' to give the name some edge. It doesn't translate that well either: Snow Berry Cherry)

Finland has a state religion, or actually two of them: Lutheran and Finnish Orthodox churches.  84 percent of the people belong to the Lutheran church and 84 percent of the babies are baptized. Baptism is mostly considered as a naming ceremony. The baby is usually just called vauva (baby) or by a nickname until the official baptisms. The name is kept as a secret, and everyone listens very carefully when the pastor reveals the name. Traditionally, you could only choose a name that was listed in the Finnish almanac that lists name/s for each day. My mom tells me stories of the pastor refusing to baptize a baby because of a 'strange' name. Because of the almanac, most Finns have a nameday.  Namedays are celebrated in families, in all the work places, and in small towns like my hometown, Paltamo. You better be prepared with goodies since everyone knows when your nameday is. You can't escape the information – it's announced on the radio every morning, it's in the newspapers, and busses and town squares might have a running, electronic information strip that includes weekly namedays. So, my mom's always prepared on July second, Maija's nameday as neighbors and friends might drop by for a cup of coffee and goodies.

The rules have relaxed. Many Finns now name their babies after foreign soap opera stars, star athletes or Idols winners. Also old names are recycled every two to three generations. A fairly new phenomenon is nature names. There are some that have been used traditionally, such as Aamu and Ilta (Dawn and Dusk), Marja and Raita (Berry and Willow), but lately, there's been a burst of names related to nature . . . Kirsikka, Pilvi, Tuuli, Vilja, Sade, Säde, Hilla, Meri, Lumi, Myrsky, Pyry, etc. or Cherry, Cloud, Wind, Grain, Rain, Ray, Storm, Sea, Snow, Snowstorm . . . It's these nature babies that I encountered, very appropriately, in the snowy fells of Ylläs, Lapland.

HILLA = CLOUDBERRY
The 7-week-old Hilla is happily napping in an ahkio, a modern version, designed after an old sledge, pulled either by her paappa, Grandpa or her äiti, Mom, both on cross-country skis. Hilla seems warm and cozy, so warmly tucked in her sleeping bag, sound in her dreams that it's almost impossible to see the girl. 


                         Hilla enjoying the snow at 7 weeks

      
                         Hilla in ahkio, pulled by Paappa, with Mom relaxing on skis

PYRY = STORM
The 4-year-old Pyry has decided to cross-country ski without poles – not an easy task at all, but he's doing quite well. Dad is patiently waiting little ways away. Mom, Pyry's two siblings, and two sets of grandparents are already roasting makkara at the Laavu, the semi-circled wooden shelter with a roaring fire in front.

         
                               Pyry, the adventorous no-pole cross-country skier

LUMI = SNOW
The 4-year-old Lumi is racing down a steep slope at Ylläs. She's been downhill skiing since the winter before and has no fear what so ever. Big sister, MERI, can barely keep up with her. Lumi knows how to slow down and stop too. She ends her run perfectly.

                           
                                        The skilled end of a run by Lumi
                                 
MYRSKY = STORM
Myrsky, 3, lives up to his name. He loves to snowborad down the hill like a winter storm. With mom up on the slope to watch him go and dad at the receiving end, at the bottom of the hill life couldn't get any better. 

                                       
                                     Myrsky, the storm-like snowboarder


Obviously, these kids were named after natural phenomena, and they've become real nature kids. We say in Finland that kids learn how to cross-country ski at the same time as they learn how to walk. So, the typical Christmas present for the baby's second Christmas is a set of skis and poles. And that's how it all starts! What's going to happen to all the skiing toddlers with the current no-snow-show winters? Is Finland going to be losing its competitive edge in future cross-country competitions? Or can we trust the Hillas, Pyrys, Lumis and Myrskys to keep the Finnish winter spirit going?

PS. Of course the Moomintrolls ski too!