ARCTIC MAJESTY Lapland is more than pure air and breathtakingly big skies. Extreme seasons within the Arctic Circle reward visitors with radically dierent experiences: Winter brings endless nights lit by the aurora borealis (Northern Lights), alpine ski slopes and cross-country trails, snowmobiles for hire, reindeer safaris, even a visit to Santa’s ‘home’ in the Finnish Lapland capital of Rovaniemi, 116 kilometres north of Kemi. Summer brings the natural phenomenon of the midnight sun to most of Lapland, which means round-the-clock salmon fishing, setting out on lakes and rivers aboard kayaks and canoes, and exploring the diversity of natural landscapes that include Finland’s three largest national parks. Besides reindeer, herds of which are commonly seen grazing freely in grasslands and roadsides, a variety of animals inhabit Lapland’s sheltering woodlands. The brown bear is Finland’s national animal and features prominently in Finnish mythology. Wolverines — the largest member of the weasel family — Arctic foxes, the Eurasian lynx, Lapland owls, golden eagles and variety of hawks also call the wilderness home.
CREATURES OF THE KALEVALA In such a heavily forested land, it’s no surprise that generations of Finnish children have grown up with an assortment of tales telling of mythical creatures lurking in deep waters and flitting amidst the trees. Some had counterparts in the folklore of neighbouring Nordic peoples, but the historically agricultural lands of today’s Finland meant that its mythical creatures were heavily associated with nature. Most date back centuries. In 1551, Mikael Agricola, a bishop and clergyman who is often called the ‘father of written Finnish’, assembled lists of known deities and creatures in Finnish mythology. These lists were later used in the creation of Kalevala (‘Land of Heroes’), a 19th-century national folk epic compiled by Finnish folklorist Elias Lönnrot. A sampling of these mythical creatures must include the Hiisi, ancient forest gods with pagan origins that help hunters get prey. They are not to be confused with Menninkäinen, leprechaun-like creatures who seek out shiny objects that many believe inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s Hobbits (Tolkien admitted to a fascination with Finnish mythology). The tiny Keiju are beautiful, humanoid creatures with butterfly wings that reside in misty meadows, while Peikko are the feared ‘boogeymen’ of Finnish mythology who kidnap wayward children. As proof that not all creatures take human form, Iku-Turso is a fearsome, giant-octopus-like creature that’s similar to a dragon-winged Kraken.
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SÁMI TRADITIONAL DRESSED WOMEN LAPLAND, FINLAND
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