Heikinpäivä 2010
The Bear Rolls Over!
Karhu kylkeänsä kääntää!

January 19th!  Heat up your Ice Sauna (JääSauna)!

Visit the Heikinpäivä Website for details!

Story Behind the Finnish Heikinpäivä Festival


By: Brianne Graham, Staff Writer; Michigan Tech University Lode

      It's hard to believe that winter is half over, yet sure enough it is, and the Finnish people in this community celebrated this occurrence once again with Heikinpaiva 2002. It is a great tradition with many interesting events and a lot of fun to be had. The holiday is meant to remember the patron Saint of Finland, Saint Henrik, and to celebrate the fact that winter is half over.
      
       Saint Henrik was actually a Bishop in Finland back in the mid-1100s. The story is told that while he was on a missionary journey in 1156, he stopped at the home of a man by the name of Lalli who was a prosperous farmer.
      
       The man was not home, but his wife was. After much hesitation and Bishop Henrik telling her that it was custom to provide him with what he needed, the lady of the house relented and gave him food and whatever else he needed.
      
       The bishop paid the lady for the food and was on his way. When Lalli returned home his wife told him of the Bishop Lalli and he was outraged. He took off after him and caught up with the bishop on the frozen surface of Koylio Lake. Here Lalli murdered the bishop. After he killed him, Lalli took the bishops miter and wore it, only to find out later when he took it off that his scalp went with it. Within the year Lalli died after being tormented by mice following him everywhere he went looking to eat him alive. He drowned in a lake after the mice had chewed through a tree that Lalli was hiding in and it fell into a lake. Years after his death, Lalli has been depicted as lying under the foot of St. Henrik showing that St. Henrik represents the victory of Christianity over Lalli and paganism.
      
       Bishop Henrik was given the position of national saint at the end of the 13th century to become St. Henrik.
      
       In Finland every name has a day associated with it, so when your name day comes up you celebrate it, more or less like a small birthday celebration.
      
       St. Henrik's Day (Heikinpaiva) in past history has been the day that marks the halfway point of the winter. At this time farmers checked to make sure that their stock of hay, grains and other commodities were only half gone as to sustain them for the rest of the winter. On this day, as well as most other Finnish name days, there are some folk sayings associated with Heikinpaiva.
      
       Three that are still rather popular and they are: Karhu kaantaa kylkea (The bear rolls over to the other side, meaning winter is half over), Talven selka taittuu (Winter's back breaks), and Keikki heinaa jakaa (Heikki divides the hay).
      
       Many Finnish traditions are dying out in the Copper Country because of the loss of the use of Finnish language among the younger generations of the community. For this reason the Finnish Theme Community has taken extreme pride in presenting Heikinpaiva for the past four years.
      
       This year was no different, and according to Jim Kurtti, co-chairman of the Finnish Theme Community, more and more people take part in the weekend events as the Mid-Winter Festival becomes more popular.
      
       This year's events started this past Friday with Seisovapoyta (Finnish Buffet) followed by Tanssit (Finn Hall Dance), which was a huge success as Kurrti noted, "The dance floor was crowed from the first song." On Saturday there was the Tori (market), where hand-made crafts were sold as well as ethnic foods and other Finnish items.
      
       There was also a reindeer camp this year taking into account the importance of reindeer to the Finnish. There were also some events to pay tribute to the ingenuity of Finnish immigrants, there was a tribute to rural men & their sons recognizing all the hard work they did to provide for themselves and their families, as well as a fun event called the whip sled.
      
       The Heikinpaiva parade was held in the early afternoon and contained St. Henrik, and other popular Finnish figures as well as other traditional Finnish fashions and objects. The grand opening of Lumitalo (House of Snow) was celebrated.
      
       Finnish engineer Seppo Makinen was brought to the Copper Country to supervise the construction of two beautiful snow houses, one in Hancock and one in Houghton.
      
       Later in the afternoon the Heikinpaiva Hiihto Ski Race was held, a Finnish cooking course taught by Helsinki native Anna Linnonmaa, and there was also a weaving class that incorporated teaching classes on birchbark weaving.
      
       There was also a Finnish language camp one could attend, and if you were brave enough, the annual Polar Bear Dive once again took place out behind the Ramada Inn located in Hancock. The day was wrapped up with a Heikin Kokko (Christmas Tree Bonfire) located at the Hancock waterfront.
      
       The number of participants continues to grow each year, and the Finnish Theme Committee is proud to sponsor the event. "We get people from all over that come to this. It's a good time for socializing and a good time to remember our heritage," said Kurtti.
      
       If you missed the festival this year and/or are interested in learning more about the Finnish Theme Committee you can go to their website www.pasty.com to learn more about events and to gain information on people to contact if you are interested in what the committee does.