Runebergin Päivä ja Laskiaistiistai

This past Tuesday there were two holidays on the same day, Runebergin Päivä (Runeberg's Day) and Laskiaistiistai, or Shrove Tuesday. Runeberg's Day is a celebration of the birthday of Finland's national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg, while Shrove Tuesday marks the beginning of Lent. For Runeberg's Day people eat little tarts called Runeberg's tart, or Runeberg's cupcakes. You can find a recipe for them here. I bought some at the supermarket, they were alright, but I liked the Shrove buns better, because yes, Shrove Tuesday also has an official desert. Here is another recipe if you're curious, but I think the Shrove bun that I bought looks a little nicer.

Another Finnish tradition on Shrove Tuesday is sledding. The University of Turku, along with Åbo Akademi, the Swedish-speaking university, hold a sledding competition ever year. Different student groups build crazy sleds and compete against each other to which group can make the most creative sled. This year there were sauna, pirate ship, and car sleds among others. Almost all of the students wear their student overalls to this event as well.

I'd like to write more, but I have to get ready for my trip to Latvia tomorrow. Leila and I are catching the 7:05 bus to the train station tomorrow, so we can get to Helsinki by 10, and then we should have enough time to get to the airport. Another exchange student is meeting us at the train station, so there will be three of us, which I think is the perfect number for a weekend trip. I'll let you know how it goes, and hopefully you'll have a nice weekend too! And here are some photos from the sledding event: