Something for the weekend. Today my family is going down to Champaign-Urbana to participate in Winter War 41 . I have been participating in this wargaming and rpg gaming extravaganza since 1975. The only possible song for this weekend is Finlandia Hymn by Jean Sibelius. The above video is a tribute to the brave Finnish troops who defended their nation against the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-1940 and the Continuation War of 1941-1944.
An English translation of the Finnish lyrics:
O, Finland, behold, your day is dawning,
The threat of night has been banished away,
And the lark of morning in the brightness sings,
As though the very firmament would sing.
The powers of the night are vanquished by the morning light,
Your day is dawning, O land of birth.
O, rise, Finland, raise up high
Your head, wreathed with great memories.
O, rise, Finland, you showed to the world
That you drove away the slavery,
And that you did not bend under oppression,
Your day is dawning, O land of birth.
This beautiful music has served as the host for many lyrics as we see below.
Here is the entire magnificent Finlandia, of which the Finlandia Hymn forms a portion:
Donald R. McClarey
Paul Zummo
Almost Chosen People 
I am very happy that you like Finland
The best part of the old Swedish land
That to say before Tilsit 1807…
Not only because my wife happens to come from there…
“Not only because my wife happens to come from there”
Ha! My wife Ulf is of Norwegian and Swedish ancestry, and has visited Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and speaks Norwegian, Swedish, Catalan, Danish, Spanish and English. Myself, I barely have a firm grasp of English! 🙂
Why not add Finland this summer?
We will be happy to see you there!
Grasp of English?
There are about 1000000 words in the English language to care of.
Take more than a lifetime…
If we were not putting two kids through college and law school right now Ulf, Finland would be definitely on my list of places to see!