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Show if?7!! AW 7 AHf If! Irfc KB fltiS& mmi pan mii iinnmBwmni'iw iniii iMwrawaanaaniiMgaimMWirat A. nr.- I U: J -Swot HE Land of Many S Waters" Is the poetic designation of their beloved country most cher-ished cher-ished by the peo-pie peo-pie of F I n 1 a n d. KjPI Mountain ranges and forest stretches yJfilSi kold and verdant are interspersed with valley waterways and fragrant meadow-lands. In summertime summer-time the foam and spray of rushing torrents hang sparkling spark-ling dewdrops on the golden pine-needles whilst the vaporous va-porous mists of the marshlands marsh-lands wave fairy rainbows among the russet fruit of the bronzy hazels. The greenest of green moss and the most tender gray stone-wort stone-wort spread softest carpets for the feet as with the hand are plucked the sweetest wild flowers. "The Thousand Lakes" of Finland, placid in the sun- S V "v fcO. xx t M, S" W hlblts a burning candle In every window; the peasants' dwellings are littered with clean straw and the cattle In their stallB have extra supplies sup-plies of food. A popular observance is to arrange ar-range inverted saucers around the festive board one for each guest under which are placed objects bearing significant meanings. Each person per-son in turn ralseB a saucer. May be it has covered cov-ered a piece of red ribbon that presages a wound or some bodily injury; or a coin, riches; or a key, for a girl the token of her direction within a twelve-month of some household, for a boy the entrance on a commercial career; or a piece of fuel, which fortells death; or a ring for matrimony, and so forth. The "Christmas Buck" visits every home in Finland. He is an old man with long white hair and beard and heavily clad in fur. He drives his team of reindeer over mountains and frozen lakes and enters unannounced each doorway. He makes a circuit of the family and inquires whether the children have been good or bad. Before leaving he throws down klapps for all. At Twelfth Night the "Star Boys" make their appearance. They are five young men in fancy dress. Three represent the Three Holy Kings of the Epiphany, one is King Herod, and the last a goat with hoofs and horns. They enact a legendary play which has for its finale the death of Herod, whilst the goat Is thrust outside the door. Wherever they go they collect ams for poor people who have no Christmas cheer. After the gayetles of Christmas two months elapse during which one is able to restore one's digestive organs, and then comes Lent. A distinctive dis-tinctive Lenten diet is blines and caviar; the former the large thick pancakes which are eaten witr. butter, sour cream and fruit juice. At mid-Lf mid-Lf ut a fresh water fish is much esteemed lake it is called It is caught in nets sunk through holes In the ice of rivers and lakes. It is boiled in milk. On Easter Eye everybody eats hard boiled eggs. The first of May is an ancient festival of general gen-eral observance, especially rvr students and youths. They meet in the public parks of Hel-singfors, Hel-singfors, the capital, and "fl country marketplaces, market-places, and there sing old folk-songs to the spirit of spring. Then they drink deeply of sweet mead and consume vast quantities of struvor rich puff-paste tarts and then they dance and flirt with buxom maidens to their hearts' content. con-tent. Midsummer day is of universal observance in Finland. Birch trees are planted at all the house doors and twigs of birch are stuck all over every room. The sun sets In the eve at eleven o'clock, and rises In the day at two. During Dur-ing those three brief hours the young people kindle kin-dle big fires. All are bent on dancing around and above the blazing embers. They call the fires kokko, "love's flame." Rye harvest is a very important season. On the first day the laborer-farmers, with their wives and families, foregather at the mansion of the land-owner. They are divided into squads one man, two women and three children. To each souad Is assigned a certain area wherein the man cuts the crop, the women shock and the children glean. They work from four In the morning until eight at night, with intervals for breakfast and dinner. These meals, . together with the supper at the end of toil, are substantial substan-tial in ever? sense. They are provided gratis by the land-owner and are eaten at long tables placed In front of the mansion, whereat the landowner land-owner and his family serve. After supper all join in singing the plaintive national song, kale-wala, kale-wala, and then a happy time is passed with games and dances. The rye crop, which provides the Finns with their staff of life, does not dry in ordinary seasons sea-sons in the fields. It is consequently carried to the rias, or barns, and laid on racks and rafters. Fires are kindled in each corner and the smoke permeates the crop, imparting a much-loved and peculiar flavor. The country people's diet consists con-sists chiefly of talkumma, a sort of porridge made of rye. This is carried, when well set. In birch bark knapsacks. It is also baked hard and hung in great round, thin cakes, with holes in the center, from the ceilings of the houses. Their favorite beverage is coffee, which they brew to perfection. Corn-rye brandy is a liquor much esteemed by all classes and sometimes indulged in to excess. The greatest refreshment of the Finns Is the bath; every homestead has a bath-house. It is their unfailing remedy in sickness. "If bath and brandy fail," they say, "then comes death." In the bath-houses are stone ovens wherein woor1 fires are kindled and every orifice is closed After the fire has burnt itself out buckets o! water or shovelfuls of snow are dashed upon th shine but whipped to fury by autumn storms, resemble re-semble clusters of precious gems cast by beneficent benefi-cent deit es upon the bosom of Nature. The eve delights In the serenity of the panorama till the ear catches the impressive thunder of the cataracts cata-racts and waterfalls. A river-lake-land trip is an experience at once novel and thrilling. Light boats, too frail they look, push off boldly into the rapids, manned by sturdy young fallows tn red flannel shLrt?, sIou,ihJ felt hats and leather boots far up the thigh, singing snatches of plaintive plain-tive folk-lore as their craft clear rock and boulder boul-der daringly. The long wooden paddle thrown out behind and the supple oars dash showers of crystal water over the traveler. Groups of white-kerchiefed white-kerchiefed women and bare-legged children toss oheery welcome all along the course whilst the crafty boatmen take vigorous pulls at the ubiquitous ubiqui-tous cigarettes. Winter brings about a marvelous transformation. transforma-tion. True, the rude storms expend their fury upon the rock-bound coast but the deadly blizzard bliz-zard tears away Nature's beauty spots. When the "Lady of the Snows" has spread her glittering glitter-ing mantle far and wide peace, white and lasting, last-ing, reigns everywhere. Ice crystals depend rom every bough and eave and frost diamonds sprinkle on the ground. Above all and everything every-thing the great horizon is flashed with the dazzling daz-zling Northern Lights giving promise of life and constancy. Spring, which saw vegetation leap like magic out of the melting snows, Is swiftly followed by brief and brilliant summer, and autumn comes on apace, ready, so It seems, to be devoured by the greedy frost king. Seed time and harvest hold each other by the hand to resist the grip of ice. Forest work ceases, and, the short day of winter over, old and young assemble In the homestead's long common room and together weave and spin, and read and smoke, and dance and sing. Certainly by sledge and ski and skate distances are covered, and happy school children glide hither and thither, sometimes Bcurrying home for fear of wolves. The Finns came originally from the , Altai mountains. They took possession of the "Land of Many Waters" away in the seventh century. The language spoken by the country people has a similar origin; it is an unique tongue, soft and sonorous, not unlike modern Italian. The people peo-ple of the eastern province, touching upon Russia, Rus-sia, exhibit the Mongolian type thick lips, high cheek bones and narrow eyes. The inhabitants of the western province are mostly of Swedish origin and speak the Swedish language. The word "Finn" means wizard. Among their many superstitions is the tradrt'ion that a trinity trin-ity of spirits presides over their destiny "Ukko," the spirit of the air; "Tapo," the spirit of tha forest, and "Abte," the spirit of the lakes. The mountain-ash is sacred, its ashes, after burning, are carefully preserved, for when sprinkled on the ground they descry luck or the reverse in wooing. Land tenure and land service In Finland present pre-sent many interesting features. The more salient points are actual survivals of federal time3. The class of peasant which may be called "laborer-farmers" consists of men who receive no wages. They occupy buil'ngs belonging to inn landowner, which they are required to keep in repair. The land-owners make grants of seed and other necessaries, and of certain lands whicD the laborer-farmers cultivate for their own benefit. bene-fit. They have free access to the forest for fuel and for lumber for repairs. In return they are obliged to work for the land-owner with their own families and horses. On holdings, where there is clay, the laborer-farmers are allowed to make bricks and to earn what they can by sales, paying so much per cent on their gains to their landowner. Many laborer-farmers are quite well off, and, whilst they retain their status as peasants, their sons and daughters are sent to excellent schools and enter government and commercial employments. employ-ments. This class of men must not, however, be confounded with the "free" peasantry. The latter, lat-ter, although generally poorer, have superior civil rights and form an estate of the realm with direct representation in the Finnish parliament. Finland was first occupied by the Russians In 1S09. Alexander I. granted the inhabitants autonomy under their ancient laws and Institutions'. Institu-tions'. Recent events have greatly curtailed Finnish Fin-nish liberties, but like the patriots the Finns abide and sing: "Land of a Thousand Lakes, Where faith and life are ours. Past wrongs inspire our powers, For us the future wakes!" Like other folk, the Finns rejoice In festivals religious and profane. Christmas is the great-sst great-sst of them all. Ever so long before , the eve of the Nativity the stores are crowded with people choosing klapps, gifts for family and friends. In each town and village the snow-covered marketplace market-place becomes a pine forest full of Christmas trees, for every home keeps Christmas thus. If they do not rejoice in beef and plum pudding they have their seasonable dishes all the same lut fisk, dried cod, soaked in brine and boiled to a Jelly; with it they eat a sort of pease pudding. pud-ding. Smoked roast pork follows and then comes a rice pudding full of almonds the more almonds al-monds you get the more happy months you will have. Plum tarts, served with paste and clotted cream, form the dessert. On Christmas Eve each house and cottage ex- embers and red hot stones. Dense clouds o. steam arise and into them the bathers plunge The whole body is switched with birch rods, and then follow thorough massage and rubbing down with soap. As the bather quits the bath-house sousings of cold water or snow are administered, sometimes a header into deep snow is preferred! Then for a while to cool they all sit on benches in the open air, and then they resume their clothes. During harvest time such baths in common com-mon are taken every evening after work is done; in winter the Saturday night tub suffices. Few spectacles can be more weird and astounding for the traveler than, when driving to night quarters, quar-ters, he suddenly cqmes upon the faroUy at bath. V |