Hyvää kekriä, äiti! (Happy halloween, mom!)
Here in Finland Halloween with ghosts and bats is a rather young phenomenon, mainly noticed at kindergartens. There is no tradition of kids going to trick- and treating in funny costumes.
Here is an older tradition, called Kekri or Köyri, although it of course has the same roots with halloween/samhain.
In Finland the whole month of November was the month of death. The finnish name Marraskuu means that, "Month of death", and that was time when the dead family members came back home, and they were served trough whole month - given food, took to sauna and told news.
Kekri was a celebration with lots of drinking and ritualized loose sexuality. We were skipping the last thing in the list.
We wanted to carve lanterns too, but the pumpkins here are so expensive, that we were using oranges and tangerins instead!
I think they came up quite ok, and besides, when the candles were lit, they spread wonderful citric smell around.
Our kekri celebration consisted mainly of eating good food in the light of our grinning citruses.
And of drinking and singing an old finnish kekri song. Over and over again.
"Yksi kaksi kolme neljä, "One two three four,
anna iloinen olla! let be happy!
Jos suru tulee If the sorrow comes
niin anna hänen mennä. let him/her go.
Paarmat ne laulaa Horseflies are singing
neljä hiirtä hyppelee four mice are jumping
kissi lyöpi trummun päälle the cat is banging the drum
koko maailma pauhaa!" the whole world is roaring!"
Then we were dancing.
And having a somersault competition. Many somersault competitions
And then I don´t quite remember..
I just remember Tuli telling us of the finnish "trick or treat" custom at Kekri - it was the adults and adolescents going round in traditional costumes, aping animals such as billygoats or cranes and behaving in obscene ways towards everyone, asking boost from neighbours, threatening otherwise to "break down the owen".
We were going to do that, but I don´t remember if we did.
Hugs from your little wild dog,
Josie