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Saint Canute's Day
Saint Knut's Day ( sv, tjugondag jul, ; , ; or ; fi, nuutinpäivä, ), or the Feast of Saint Knut, is a traditional festival celebrated in Sweden and Finland on 13January. It is not celebrated on this date in Denmark (the Knut day was moved in Sweden, not in Denmark) despite being named for the Danish prince Canute Lavard, and later also associated with his uncle, Canute the Saint, the patron saint of Denmark. Christmas trees are taken down on , and the candies and cookies that decorated the tree are eaten. In Sweden, the feast held during this event is called a Knut's party (, literally 'Christmas tree plundering'). Origins Canute Lavard (''Knut Levard'' in Swedish) was a Danish duke who was assassinated by his cousin and rival Magnus Nilsson on 7January 1131 so that Nilsson could usurp the Danish throne. In the aftermath of his death there was a civil war, which led to Knut being later declared a saint, and 7January became Knut's Day, a name day. As his name day roughly co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridgetunnel across the Öresund. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country, the third-largest country in the European Union, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.5 million, and a low population density of , with around 87% of Swedes residing in urban areas in the central and southern half of the country. Sweden has a nature dominated by forests and a large amount of lakes, including some of the largest in Europe. Many long rivers run from the Scandes range through the landscape, primarily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birch Bark
Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, crafting, and writing material, since pre-historic times. Today, birch bark remains a popular type of wood for various handicrafts and arts. Birch bark also contains substances of medicinal and chemical interest. Some of those products (such as betulin) also have fungicidal properties that help preserve bark artifacts, as well as food preserved in bark containers. Collection and storage Removing birch bark from live trees is harmful to tree health and should be avoided. Instead, it can be removed fairly easily from the trunk or branches of dead wood, by cutting a slit lengthwise through the bark and pulling or prying it away from the wood. The best time for collection is spring or early summer, as the bark is of better quality and most easil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saints Days
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran doctrine, all of their faithful deceased in Heaven are considered to be saints, but some are considered worthy of greater honor or emulation. Official ecclesiastical recognition, and consequently a public cult of veneration, is conferred on some denominational saints through the process of canonization in the Catholic Church or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. While the English word ''saint'' originated in Christianity, historians of religion tend to use the appellation "in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people", referring to the Jewish tzadik, the Islamic walī, the Hindu rishi or Sikh gur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
January Observances
January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is also the first of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of winter) and the warmest month of the year within most of the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the second month of summer). In the Southern hemisphere, January is the seasonal equivalent of July in the Northern hemisphere and vice versa. Ancient Roman observances during this month include Cervula and Juvenalia, celebrated January 1, as well as one of three Agonalia, celebrated January 9, and Carmentalia, celebrated January 11. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. History January (in Latin, ''Ianuarius'') is named after Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology. Traditionally, the original Roman calendar consi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas And Holiday Season
The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November to early January. It is defined as incorporating at least Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and sometimes various other holidays and festivals. It also is associated with a period of shopping which comprises a peak season for the retail sector (the "Christmas (or holiday) shopping season") and a period of sales at the end of the season (the "January sales"). Christmas window displays and Christmas tree lighting ceremonies when trees decorated with ornaments and light bulbs are illuminated are traditions in many areas. In Western Christianity, the Christmas season is synonymous with Christmastide, which runs from December 25 (Christmas Day) to January 5 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve), popularly known as the 12 Days of Christmas, or in the C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ã…land
Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a population of 30,129, constituting 0.51% of its land area and 0.54% of its population. Its only official language is Swedish language, Swedish and the capital city is Mariehamn. Åland is situated in an archipelago, called the Åland Islands, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. It comprises Fasta Åland on which 90% of the population resides and about 6,500 Skerry, skerries and islands to its east. Of Åland's thousands of islands, about 60–80 are inhabited. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Roslagen in Sweden by of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is Geographic contiguity, contiguous with the Archipelago Sea, Finnish archipelago. Åland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ostrobothnia (region)
Ostrobothnia ( sv, Österbotten; fi, Pohjanmaa) is a region in western Finland. It borders the regions of Central Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta. It is one of four regions considered modern-day Ostrobothnia, hence also referred to as Coastal Ostrobothnia to avoid confusion. Ostrobothnia is one of two Finnish regions with a Swedish-speaking majority (the other being the constitutionally monolingual province of Åland); Swedish-speakers make up 51.2% of the total population. The region contains thirteen bilingual municipalities and one that is exclusively Finnish-speaking. The capital of Vaasa is predominantly inhabited by Finnish speakers, whereas smaller towns and rural areas are generally dominated by the Swedish language. The three municipalities with the largest number of Swedish speakers are Korsholm, Jakobstad and Pedersöre. Geographically, Ostrobothnia has little topographical relief, because it is mostly former seafloor brought to surface by post-glac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southwest Finland
Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The region's capital and most populous city is Turku, which was known as the former capital city of Finland before Helsinki. The area comprising the Southwest is largely the same as the historical province of Finland Proper, so named because it is the original home of the tribe known as the Finns proper. Origin of the name Finland Proper The name of Finland Proper has a historical function. In historic times, in the area of the present Southern Finland lived three tribes, which were the Finns proper, the Tavastians and the Karelians. The southwestern part of the country, the province where the Finns proper lived, was simply called Finland (Finnish: ''Suomi''). In the 17th century the name began to be used to refer to the whole land and a speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Satakunta
Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is Pori. The name of the region literally means Hundred. The historical province of the same name was a larger area within Finland, covering modern Satakunta as well as much of Pirkanmaa. Municipalities The region of Satakunta is made up of 16 municipalities, of which 7 have city status (marked in bold). Northern Satakunta sub-region: * Jämijärvi **Population: * Kankaanpää **Population: * Karvia **Population: * Siikainen (''Siikais'') **Population: Pori sub-region: * Harjavalta **Population: * Huittinen (''Vittis'') **Population: * Kokemäki (''Kumo'') **Population: * Merikarvia (''Sastmola'') **Population: * Nakkila **Population: * Pomarkku (''Påmark'') **Population: * Pori (''Björneborg'') **Population: * Ulvila ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noormarkku
Noormarkku ( sv, Norrmark) is a former municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and was part of the Satakunta region. The municipality had a population of 6,158 (31 December 2009) and covered an area of of which is water. The population density was . Noormarkku is the birthplace of the Ahlstrom Corporation. Antti Ahlström invested in the entire development of Noormarkku, setting up one of Finland's first Finnish language schools and building a road network. The municipality was unilingually Finnish. Noormarkku was annexed with the neighboring city of Pori on 1 January 2010. A notable building is the Villa Mairea by architect Alvar Aalto designed as the private home for Maire and Harry Gullichsen Harry may refer to: TV shows *Harry (American TV series), ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin *Harry (British TV series), ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons *Harr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Krampus
Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure in the Central and Eastern Alpine folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ... of Europe who, during the Advent season, scares children who have misbehaved. Assisting Saint Nicholas (European folklore), Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 6 December, with Saint Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children with modest gifts such as oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate, while the badly behaved ones only receive punishment from Krampus with Birching, birch rods. Krampus day itself, on the other hand, is on the 5th of December. The origin of the figure is unclear; some Folklore studies, folklorists and anthropologists have postulated it as having pre-Christian origins. In traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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