Heikki Lunta is the personification of the snow god in the folklore of the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula of ...

, influenced by

Finnish mythology Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a Finnish Neopaganism, modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian mythology, Estonian and othe ...

. The character of Heikki Lunta is a product of the heavy Finnish-American presence in the

Keweenaw Peninsula The Keweenaw Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweena ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, paired with a tremendous annual snowfall. The character has become an established part of local culture and media.

History

David Riutta created "Heikki Lunta" (the name translates to "Hank Snow" in English) in 1970. When an upcoming snowmobile race hosted by the Range Snowmobile Club of Atlantic Mine was endangered by the lack of snowfall, Riutta, a worker at WMPL in Hancock, aired the "Heikki Lunta Snowdance Song". The song goes on to ask "Heikki Lunta," the Finnish snow god, for snow in time for the race. According to local tales, the snow fell and fell, until there was too much. People were superstitious that Riutta's song had caused too much snow for the race, so in response to public outcry, Riutta recorded the separate track, "Heikki Lunta Go Away." The 45 showcased each song on alternate sides. The legends of Heikki Lunta have since expanded through children's stories and stage plays: ranging from his origins in central Finland as the son of Eljas and Saima Lunta, to his siblings, to his childhood sweetheart, Aino Mäkinen.
Heikki Hits the Stage by Hilary Virtanen 2006. Accessed September 6, 2022

References

External links

Not Just Talking About the Weather: Tradition, Social Change and Heikki Lunta
Hilary Virtanen

(song), lyrics from Da Yoopers 1991 release, "Yoopy do Wah"
Heikki Lunta - A Modern Copper Country Folk Hero
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112064554/http://pasty.com/heikki/heikkilunta.html , date=2011-01-12 , Jim Kurtti
Guess Who's Coming to Sauna? (Heikki Lunta)
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Conga Se MenneHeikki Lunta Snow Dance and other traditions
Upper Peninsula of Michigan Fakelore Fictional Finnish people Finnish-American culture in Michigan Hancock, Michigan Michigan folklore

History

See also

References

External links