Finnish neopaganism

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Finnish neopaganism is an attempt to revive old Finnish paganism, a pre-Christian religion of Finland. Finnish paganism has died out during the millennia-long period while Finland has been a part of the Christian world. Many of the pagan traditions however, have remained even in Christian context. Midsummer is still a very important festival for the Finns, and most do not even know it's christian meaning as the day dedicated to John the baptist — it is still a pagan festival. Even many non-pagans make traditional midsummer magic on this day.

Finnish neopaganism does not have a simple name like Asatru does, on the contrary, many pagans refer to their faith with unique names. Some also call their faith Ukkos faith, which is actually the name of a similar faith, but not quite the same.

Main problem in the revival of Finnish paganism is the nature of pre-christian Finnish culture, which relied on oral tradition and was completely illiterate. Main sources concerning Finnish native culture are written by later era christians. They may be biased, tainted or unreliable.

Some Finnish neopagans visit sacred forests, where wooden god-images or sacred stones can sometimes be found. Some celebrate the circling of the year at certain dates, for example by burning bonfires, dancing, sacrificing, or making other kinds of rituals. One ritual, which is also an authentic practice of ancestors, is to drink a toast for the thunder god Ukko at the midsummer festival.

[edit] Relation to Asatru

Some Finnish neopagans consider Asatru a part of their faith, while others think it is foreign. Those who make a distinction between Asatru and Finnish neopaganism think Asatru is based too much on beliefs of neighbouring countries and not on their own local traditions. Some even see Asatru as a kind of cultural imperialism. Still the ancient faiths of Finland and its Scandinavian neighbours have many similarities, for example a thunder god who strikes lightning with his hammer, and rides in the clouds with his chariot making thunderstorms. (compare Thor and Ukko). Finnish folklore told about a great wizard Väinämöinen, the first and oldest human being, and maybe originally a god, who is - according to some - close to Odin.