Ihanaa Ystävänpäivää
Posted on February 14, 2010 by Markus Stocker,
In our modern world of the news running fast and the hip spreading wide it is sometimes easy to forget that what we think to be the accepted standard is a belief that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
I think, I’m probably correct in stating that most people I know across countries and continents on this day celebrate Valentine’s Day, provided the 14th of February is memorable in first place. In fact, most celebrate a particular embodiment of Valentine’s Day, namely, the flowers & chocolate giving among lovers — to the extent that some perceive the day of the red hearts as depressing.
Not in Finland. What Google translates with Valentine’s Day is, in Finnish, more accurately translated into Friend’s Day. In fact, the root of the Finnish word Ystävänpäivä is Ystävä which is translated in English into ‘friend’. (Päivä means ‘day’.) And so I experienced this week that what I have been taking for granted is one of those days during which Finnish people use to give postcards among friends.
Incidentally, I find the Finnish tradition of Ystävänpäivä so much more loving. Friend’s Day not only includes your lover but your past lover, your friends and families as well.
Therefore, a Wonderful Friend’s Day!
(Ihanaa Ystävänpäivää!)
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February 22nd, 2010 @ 8:58 pm
Sai che hai proprio trovato una bella usanza…a me non piace molto San Valentino come giorno degli innamorati, penso sia solo un grande commercio e non vogliono proprio dire nulla i regali costosi fatti a mogli, mariti, amanti….se non c’è la cosa principale: RISPETTO. Un gran bel regalo è volersi bene e stare insieme :0)
Buon Valentine’s Day li dove sei anche se con un po’ di ritardo ;0)
Agata
February 22nd, 2010 @ 9:00 pm
Just saw the movie Valentine’s Day. I don’t know if it’s just me, but really spending a fortune for flowers, seems a bit dumb to me. And what do they really tell you? That you have chosen a guy with a fat wallet.
When you end up loosing someone dear to you, you really don’t think about the things you didn’t buy for the other. You think about things you did or didn’t say like telling how much you really cared and loved the other. So, for me Valentine’s Day, our Friends Day, is a day when you really can be open about your feelings without feeling awkward. Maybe one rose, a self made card, just to tell that you think about people dear to you and appreciate them being in your life. Just to be sure that they really do know how precious they are. Saying that can be so much harder than just sending the fancy flowers. But hearing that can make someone’s day so much brighter. But, maybe it’s just me..