Easter festivities with a Finnishing touch – the annual Finnish Festival in Australia
This Easter, the 51st Finnish Festival was held by the Finnish Society of Melbourne in Altona. The annual Festival (previously known as the Easter Games) gathers Finnish emigrants and their descendants as well as Australian friends from all around Australia to compete in both cultural games and sports and to spend quality time with lifelong friends during the Easter time.
It all started with pesäpallo, the Finnish baseball
During the 1950's and early 60's, a big wave of Finnish emigrants came to Australia. Having played Finnish baseball in their home country, some of the emigrants wanted to keep playing this marvelous national sport of Finland called 'pesäpallo' here in Australia. In addition to pesäpallo, volleyball and table tennis were included to the program. The annual meeting was called the Easter Games as Easter was the best time for everyone to organize a proper tournament.
As the years passed by, the program got broader by providing more of a cultural side to the Easter Games. People were also given the possibility to compete in cultural activities such as singing, folk dancing and music.
If there was still some energy left in one's feet after the long day at the field, it was possible to participate in Finnish folk dancing in the evenings. The tradition of dancing is still alive. On last Easter Saturday, a dinner dance was organized for people to socialize, eat great food and dance to the beat provided by a live band Twisted Tango.
Nowadays, there really is something for everyone at the Finnish Festival. One can have a go at Finnish baseball or volleyball or try to beat someone in fast-paced table tennis. If the body is not keeping up with the pace of these sports anymore, then there is always the possibility of playing the traditional Finnish yard games Mölkky (also known as Finska or Klopp) and Kyykkä to get the adrenaline rushing.
If sports is not at all your cup of tea, but you still want to compete at something, then the cultural competition is definitely for you. This year, there were 9 different categories in which you could compete: folk dancing, dancing (with no restriction on style), solo and group singing, solo instrument or instrumental ensemble, humor, recitation and a drawing competition for kids.
Last but not least: of course these festivities would not be the same without the great Finnish food that is offered at the Festival. This year there were e.g. traditional Finnish Karelian pies, pea soup and cinnamon buns. If your tooth was aching for something more sugary, then you were able to buy Finnish lollies like Fazer Blue, Turkish Pepper and salted liquorice.
As there is something for everyone, people from all different age groups take part in the festivities. This allows the older generation (the Finnish emigrants) to teach and pass on some great Finnish traditions to their following generations.
Although most of the activities are competitive, the meaning of the Finnish Festival is more profound than just competing: it is more like an annual family gathering. When the tradition got started in the late 1950's, the Easter games really gave the Finnish emigrants the sense of belonging in a new country by creating a close community of Finns here in Australia.
This year's Finnish Festival - kick off for the Finland 100 celebrations
As this year marks the centenary year of Finland, the Finnish Festival in Melbourne was commenced with style by holding a beautiful Opening Ceremony at the Altona Theater. The Opening Ceremony served also as a kick off for the Finland 100 celebrations in Melbourne.
The Ceremony commenced with a parade of flags while Porilaisten marssi was playing in the background. In addition to the Australian and Finnish flags, there were flags representing each Finnish society in Australia. This was topped by singing both the national anthem of Australia and Finland.
A group of speakers were invited to share a few words about this special event and Finland's 100 years of independence. Jori Tossavainen, President of the Finnish Society of Melbourne, had the honor to give the warm welcome speech.
The Ambassador of Finland to Australia, Mr. Lars Backström, also gave a speech at the Opening Ceremony. Mr. Backström spoke about the three important Finnish symbols: the flag, the coat of arms (lion) and the national anthem. He gave a very detailed speech on how they ended up representing our country after gaining independence from Russia. Ambassador Backström officially announced the opening of the 51st Finnish Festival with his speech.
In addition, Mayor of the City of Hobsons Bay, Cr Sandra Wilson, shared her views of the Finnish society in Melbourne and congratulated Finland on its 100 years of independence. She was very pleased how well the Finns had settled into Australia. The President of the Australasian Federation of Finnish societies and clubs, Lissi Chapelli, also gave a speech and thanked all the volunteers and the Finnish society of Melbourne for the hard work in order to organize the Festival.
Opening Ceremony was filled with other interesting performances. A Finnish folk dancing group Hilipakka and a folk music group Idän Lokarit came all the way from Finland to show how it is done in Finland. Young dancers from the Classique School of Dancing presented a beautiful dance choreography that was accompanied with the Finnish song "Maailman äärettömyys" by Nina Tapio.
"VÄÄRÄ!" – Finnish game, Finnish terminology
One of the highlights of the Festival is the Finnish baseball tournament between the different Finnish sports clubs in Australia. Year after year the sports clubs collect teams to compete against each other in order to find out, which team is the best. There are categories for the women, men and for the mixed teams.
Finnish baseball is very different from the American baseball. It is not about who bats the ball the hardest, but more or less where and how. Therefore, it is way more tactical than the American counterpart.
There was one peculiarity that really struck a chord with me as a Finn, when I was watching people play pesäpallo. I kept hearing the following Finnish phrases repeatedly "VÄÄRÄ!", "JOKERI LYÖ!" and "SIEPPAA!" The word "haava" has been cleverly translated into almost same sounding English word "half out". Many of the baseball players do not speak or understand any Finnish, yet they were able to use these Finnish baseball terms fluently.
To make it more astonishing, Australia has always had a team at the Finnish baseball World Cup. In fact, the idea of the World Cup was created in Australia by a former Superpesis player, Kaija Tanner and the Finnish emigrant and Finnish baseball lover, Esko Kankaanpaa, while Kaija was visiting Australia in 1990. The first World Cup was held in 1992 in Helsinki, Finland.
This July (20th-24th) the World Cup is held in Turku, Finland. The tournament is part of the Finland 100 festivities and therefore, it will be bigger than ever before. In addition to Finland, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and Estonia, teams from India and the United States are expected to compete for the first time. Finland still remains the all-time champion by winning all of the previous World Cups in both men's, women's and mixed categories. I bat it is going to be an amazing World Cup this year!
Pinja Immonen