Just So You Know

Oops! How did we miss that cultural lesson?

So as part of the trip to Finland for the funeral, I took my kids to the Finnish historical museum. They had a great time and we spent most of the day looking at artifacts (took pictures of an outfit that will be historically accurate for SCA). Then we got to the end of the day and my oldest son was taking pictures of a mural in the dome of the entry way. He couldn't find a sign to describe the scene so he and one of my brothers asked at the front desk. Apparently the asked the cultural equivalent question of asking a Greek, "So like who's this Zeus, dude?"

Yep, despite my Finnish ancestry, I've never studied the Kalevala. I've got a copy, I've started reading. Apparently I've never gotten to the good stuff like the Sampo or the field of snakes.

The one thing that did hit me though is how many legends and myths deal with a man and his brothers doing all sorts of impossible tasks to get the girl. You have Jacob and Rachel, Orpheus, and for some reason I'm drawing a blank although I know there are more.

posted by Shondratasha @ 19:00