() is the Finnish celebration of what is known in the English-speaking world as Shrove Tuesday. It is often described as a "mid-winter sledding festival". Ecclesiastically, is a part of Shrovetide and is a Lutheran celebration just prior to the beginning of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, the 40-day season of repentance in Christianity. In Northern Europe, this tradition has been practiced from at least the 7th century onward, and in

Catholic countries The Catholic Church is "the Catholic Communion of Churches, both Roman and Eastern, or Oriental, that are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome ( the pope)."Richard P. McBrien. ''The Church: The Evolution of Catholicism.'' (New York: Harp ...

—in the form of

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

s—even before that.

in Finland

Etymology

The etymology of the word is uncertain. Candidates for the source of the word have been (, as in descent to fasting) or (, as in counting days until Easter). Oja, Heikki: ''Aikakirja 2007'', p. 147. Almanac office of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

, 2007.
Online version
(PDF), accessed on 23 April 2010. According to a third proposal, the word comes from the old Romance term (), with the latter part having changed into a Finnish form. As is called () in Swedish after the French name '' Mardi Gras'', one possible explanation for the Finnish name is simply (). The Finnish word comes from the Swedish word , meaning . is also part of Swedish culinary traditions.

Traditions

The traditions of consist largely of merrymaking and feasts. Many of the Finnish traditions are probably based on an old work feast, where women stopped the winter tasks of working

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...

and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

and spinning them into

yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...

. Surviving old traditions include downhill sled riding and riding a sled around a pole. is no longer connected with the growth of flax, but is instead a feast of saying goodbye to the dark winter and waiting for spring.Nieminen, Kirsti
"Laskiainen laulattaa, siansorkka naurattaa"
(archived). ''Ajastaika 1/2002'', Ajasto. Accessed on 15 February 2015. After the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, Finns no longer observed obligatory fasting, but many beliefs and restrictions stayed in the people's minds. remained a peasant work feast, most importantly as a day belonging to women's work. An ancient European New Year's Day is situated around , which has led to many folk beliefs and spells connected to it in historical Finland. Work had to be stopped early in the afternoon on , in order for work to succeed for the rest of the year. The time for sauna was during daylight and bathers had to be quiet in the sauna.Vuotuisjuhlat: Laskiainen
. Helsinki: Finnish literature society. Accessed on 6 February 2019.

Food

Food items typically enjoyed in Finland in include in many cases pea soup with ham, and cheeses. In the old times, was a time to eat hearty amounts of meat, because the next opportunity to eat meat only came on Easter after fasting. Traditional foods included fatty bread and meat soup. The bread was made from

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

and spiced with pork fat. The meat soup was cooked from peas and rye grain and spiced with pig feet or pig head. The soup was also called pig foot soup. Desserts are also an integral part of . The best-known dessert, often enjoyed either with coffee or tea, is '' laskiaispulla'', which is a sweet roll filled with almond paste or strawberry jam, and whipped cream. This pastry started becoming common in the 19th century.Karjalainen, Sirpa: ''Juhlan aika: Suomalaisia vuotuisperinteitä''. Helsinki: WSOY, 1994. . There were also beliefs about food. Most importantly, food had to be fatty. The more fat glistened on people's fingers and mouths, the more milk the cows gave and the fattier the pigs got, the better. Greasy fingers should not be wiped clean; instead the grease had to be left to clean away on its own. This guaranteed good skills with a scythe. Those who licked their fingers would wound themselves with a scythe. When food was left on the table for the whole day, this guaranteed plenty of food for the rest of the year.Savolainen, Irma
Laskiainen ja tuhkakeskiviikko
(archived page). City Museum of Helsinki. Accessed on 15 February 2015.

in North America

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

too, it is traditional in to have a meal of split pea soup with ham, and for amusement – as in Finland – to slide down a hill on either snow-covered or iced tracks, often on toboggans. One of the places where is celebrated outside Europe in form of an annual festival is the community of Palo, located between

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

and Makinen on the shores of Loon Lake in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. With this celebration, Palo is the home for one of the longest continuously held annual Finnish-American festivals in the United States, others being e.g. various Saint Urho's Day festivals held each 16 March both in Canada and the United States, and the FinnFest USA festivals, which have taken place in locations throughout the United States, typically hosted by communities with connections to Finnish-American cultural history. Many Finnish-North-American groups and clubs host various celebrations, but the one which developed in Palo in the 1930s is notable for both its size and longevity.All around the year: holidays and celebrations in American life By Jack Santino (starting on page 87)

References

{{Reflist Culture of Europe Culture of Finland Public holidays in Finland Finnish-American history Holidays based on the date of Easter Mardi Gras de:Fastnachtsdienstag es:Martes de Carnaval et:Vastlapäev fi:Laskiainen fr:Mardi gras ru:масленица sv:Fettisdagen