Laskiainen

It's laskiaissunnuntai, the Sunday prior to the Shrove Tuesday. For us in Finland the Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day is not just Tuesday, it's also the Sunday before the Tuesday. Laskiainen is again one of those days that has been cleverly explained by the bible, but obviously the roots of the celebration is somewhere much deeper.

Sled and skate board have the same shape but since sled has no wheels beneath I suppose it's ok to park here. Read more about positive experiences in parking the sled.

According the religious explanation, laskiainen refers to verb laskeutua (to settle) - to settle for the fasting that lasts 40 days until the Easter. In my opinion word laskiainen refers to laskea mäkeä (sliding), because on laskiainen you're supposed to go and slide down the hill with sled, toboggan or piece of whatever-slides-in-the-snow. You're supposed to shout for "pitkiä pellavia" ("tall flax" in English, I guess) while sliding: the further you slide, the taller your flax will grow and the better quality fiber you'll get for your linen to be weaved.

In case you're not keen on harvesting top quality flax, you can leave the shouting part, and simply enjoy sliding and focus on the food. Traditional dishes of laskiainen are pea soup and laskiaispulla, a bun filled with cream and strawberry jam or cream and almond paste. And that's the eternal debate: jam or almond paste? You can only find out by trying out.