Olsok - St. Olav's day

Daniel9v9

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Today, the 29th of July, is St. Olav's day. I guess you could say he's somewhat a minor saint internationally speaking, but he is remembered in Scandinavia because he brought Christianity to Norway.

He is recognized by Rome, Eastern Orthodox and holds a special place among the Norwegian Lutherans. The Norwegian coat of arms is based on Olav, which is a crowned lion holding an axe:
Coat of arms of Norway - Wikipedia

He was given the title 'Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae', which means "Eternal King of Norway". Interestingly, in the Norwegian law, there is an old article that says that the king must uphold faith in Christ and rule according to God's Word. When the current king of Norway was asked whether or not he wanted to have this law changed or removed, he firmly declined, wanting to keep it unchanged. I think in king Harald V we can see the spirit of Olav living on. :)
 

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Also observed in Savonlinna in the neighbouring Nordic country of Finland as the founding day of the town Savonlinna ("Castle of Savonia") and the home of Olavinlinna ("Olaf's Castle"), the northernmost medieval castle in the world (which hosted some pretty important guests just the other day, btw). St. Olav is the patron saint of the castle.

As you can see, lots of "Olav-related" happenings today in Savonlinna. Alas, it's not a religious day but a fun summer carneval, including, for instance "St. Olav's Royal Karaoke Final" and "St. Olav's Historical Market." And, of course, fireworks at midnight!

20294216_1757070887666660_1618689415460190497_n.jpg
 
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Daniel9v9

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Also observed in Savonlinna in the neighbouring Nordic country of Finland as the founding day of the town Savonlinna ("Castle of Savonia") and the home of Olavinlinna ("Olaf's Castle"), the northernmost medieval castle in the world (which hosted some pretty important guests just the other day, btw). St. Olav is the patron saint of the castle.

As you can see, lots of "Olav-related" happenings today in Savonlinna. Alas, it's not a religious day but a fun summer carneval, including, for instance "St. Olav's Royal Karaoke Final" and "St. Olav's Historical Market." And, of course, fireworks at midnight!

20294216_1757070887666660_1618689415460190497_n.jpg

Very cool! I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing :) It sounds similar to how it's often celebrated in Norway.

Although I'm originally from Norway, I'm embarrassed to say I've only ever seen Finland from the inside of airports! When I was living in London I visited St. Olav's Church there, which was very beautiful. It's interesting to see his legacy in other countries.

Here's a random unrelated fun fact for you: I live in Japan now and people here quite like Finland (Moomins, Iittala and Marimekko are popular in Japan). If you ask Japanese people where santa live, they'll say "Finland"! :)
 
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Very cool! I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing :) It sounds similar to how it's often celebrated in Norway.

Although I'm originally from Norway, I'm embarrassed to say I've only ever seen Finland from the inside of airports! When I was living in London I visited St. Olav's Church there, which was very beautiful. It's interesting to see his legacy in other countries.

Here's a random unrelated fun fact for you: I live in Japan now and people here quite like Finland (Moomins, Iittala and Marimekko are popular in Japan). If you ask Japanese people where santa live, they'll say "Finland"! :)

Our local "obligatory" St. Olav's parish is the Catholic parish in Jyväskylä. Looks like they held their traditional St. Olav's Day Mass in Olavinlinna this morning. Makes sense, actually, that a Catholic parish would hold that mass and not our local Lutheran one.

I'm going to veer off topic again, but the Japanese and the Finns are quite alike, soul mates in a weird way, while not in any way "related." Forests: birch vs. bambo, also in modern architecture, minimalistic design and aesthetics in general; Japanese bathing house vs. Finnish sauna; love for karaoke and heavy metal; the culture of reserved silence; sisu vs. ganbaru and similar notions of shame, guilt, modesty and reserve, "face"; high on high tech, electronics; conservative and consensus-oriented...
 
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Daniel9v9

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Our local "obligatory" St. Olav's parish is the Catholic parish in Jyväskylä. Looks like they held their traditional St. Olav's Day Mass in Olavinlinna this morning. Makes sense, actually, that a Catholic parish would hold that mass and not our local Lutheran one.

I'm going to veer off topic again, but the Japanese and the Finns are quite alike, soul mates in a weird way, while not in any way "related." Forests: birch vs. bambo, also in modern architecture, minimalistic design and aesthetics in general; Japanese bathing house vs. Finnish sauna; love for karaoke and heavy metal; the culture of reserved silence; sisu vs. ganbaru and similar notions of shame, guilt, modesty and reserve, "face"; high on high tech, electronics; conservative and consensus-oriented...

Very interesting - thank you. Makes sense. :)

I think you're right in that there are many similarities, many of which are common to all of Scandinavia. I guess it's probably part of the reason why I'm easily adjusted to Japan!
 
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