NEWSLETTER FOR FINNS IN THE OTTAWA AND MONTREAL REGIONS VOL. 19, NO. 54. Message from the Editor

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1 Photo: Finnature ontrealin uomalainen January 2012 edition NEWSLETTER FOR FINNS IN THE OTTAWA AND MONTREAL REGIONS VOL. 19, NO. 54 Message from the Editor O n a recent trip to Finland, I was once again struck by the fact that Finnish society functions based on trust. More so than any other country that I have visited. Finns live by a generally agreed-upon set of rules, and the system based on trust ensures that citizens follow this same standard of conduct. For example, the transit system in Helsinki is based on trust. You can get on the tram without buying a ticket. But the community trusts that you will follow the rules. And for those who don t, there are heavy fines. Of course, random checks keep the system running. A friend of mine whose children go the international school in Helsinki told me that education institutions do not filter Internet usage. A recent incident involved an American family being distressed with the idea that their children would have free access on the Internet within Finnish schools. In the American system, all computers have filters to restrict inappropriate use. It was explained that web usage in the Finnish school system was based on trust. The children know the rules and generally tend to use the resources for fruitful school-related activities. If usage becomes deterrent, then action would be taken but not until then. Further to my personal experiences, I stumbled upon a study that revealed that the majority of Finnish citizens believe that the most immoral act to be committed is to go on sick leave without actually being sick! The article in Helsingin Sanomat, International Edition ( presents the findings of a study conducted in October 2011 which examined the moral code of Finns, or what they believed to be right or wrong ethically. Generally, breaking trust (including infidelity in a marriage, cheating on income tax declarations, bribing, etc.) is considered the most condemned act by the majority citizens. While other moral indicators, such as public drunkenness, promiscuity and divorce, are less worrisome and more accepted for the general public. Overall, respondents aren t as concerned about people s daily lives but do not tolerate the violation of social rules upon which their society is built. Interestingly, the study indicates that most Finns expected more of themselves than others in showing appropriate behaviour. The unity in public opinion is also striking: abiding to this code of ethics seems to show no significant variation across socio-economic status, such as wealth, level of education, or area of residence (urban/rural). Finland is exemplary with its well-functioning, trust-based system. The citizens thrive in a setting of established rules which are followed. We should carry that lesson in our daily lives, even if not residing in Finland. Now I trust you will enjoy the information provided in this first newsletter of 2012! The next issue of the newsletter will be published in September Please send material to kfrostell@hotmail.com Katja Frostell Editor

2 Tietoisku Montrealin suomalaisesta kirjastosta Kun Suomen kansa tuijotteli Armia junanvaunussa... Kun Armin lentokone oli laskeutumassa Muhoslammelle, näin kuinka kätilö Veera Turunen polki pyörällään pelkässä yöpaidassa. Niin kiire hänelläkin oli päästä näkemään Armi. Hauska muistelo joka kuvaa sekä 50-luvun nostalgiaa että Armi-ilmiötä! Helsingin olympiavuonna 1952 Miss Universumiksi valitusta muhoslaisesta koulutytöstä Armi Kuuselasta on tehty elokuvia, kirjoja, dokumentteja ja lauluja. Montrealin suomalaiseen kirjastoon ilmestynyt (kiitos tuntematon lahjoittaja!) värikkäästi kuvitettu teos on Nina af Enehjelmin 2003 julkaistu Armi Kuusela. Se on seikkaperäinen kertomus palvotun ja parjatun ikonin elämänvaiheista mutta myös hauska kansantieteellinen kuvaus suomalaisista varsinkin 50- ja 60-luvuilla. Kirjoittaja tutustui ilmiöön tutkiessaan suomalaista missi-instituutiota väitöskirjaansa varten. Kirjassa on myös yksityiskohtaiset kuvaukset Suomen hömppälehtien toimittajien matkoista Filippiineille ja Armin omat kommentit heistä jälkikäteen San Diegon La Jollasta, missä hän nykyään asuu 77-vuotiaana. Luonnonkauniista Armista tuli sotien jälkeen koko kansakunnan itsetunnon kohottaja ja lupaus paremmasta tulevaisuudesta. Hänen nopea katoamisensa Kaukoitään teki hänestä poissaolevana suorastaan myytin. Vuonna 1955 häntä näyteltiin junanvaunussa ympäri Suomea etelästä Rovaniemelle, Raumalta Joensuuhun. Kaunotar istui kävelypuvussa tavallisessa kolmannen luokan junavaunussa Kilin kanssa ja tarjosi Chymoksen makeisia kauan jonottaneille katsojille; useimmat 200 markan lipun ostaneet eivät tohtineet sanoa sanaakaan. Samassa vaunussa oli näytteillä myös Miss Suomi Eva Hellas. Amerikansuomalaisilla oli sen verran kauha sopassa Armin missisuosioon, että Pan American World Airwaysin Helsingin johtaja, viipurilaisyntyinen Paul Suni - jonka kuiskittiin olevan Yhdysvaltojen tiedustelupalvelu CIA:n miehiä - mainosti näkyvästi Kaliforniassa pidettävää Miss Universum -kisaa, johon haluttiin Suomesta edustajaa. Talvisodan jälkimainingeissa Suomi oli listattu Amerikoissa maailman suosituimmaksi pikkuvaltioksi. Pula-aikoina Suomen missikokelaat ompelivat edustusmekkoja vanhoista verhoista ja kengät hankittiin lehtien osto- ja myyntipalstoilta. Ennen Miss Universum -kisoja Armi saapui välilaskulla New Yorkiin mukanaan vain paksupohjaiset kengät. Amerikansuomalaiset hankkivat hänelle Saks Fifth Avenuen tavaratalosta kenkiä, laukkuja ja koko missitouhuun tarvittavan puvuston. Kaliforniassa filmimeikkaajat maalasivat 50-luvun glamourmeikin luonnonkauniin tytön kasvoille mutta hän sai kuin saikin universumin kauneimman purppuraviitan harteilleen. Anneli Lukka anneli.lukka@mcgill.ca 2 Veroilmoitukset Tilinpidot Yksityiset, yksityisyrittäjät ja liikkeet Erik Siponen, B. Comm 6 Calais Circle, Kirkland, H9H 3T9 puh , Fax eriksiponen@bell.net

3 Canadian Friends of Finland De Montréal Canadian Friends of Finland Unless otherwise stated, all events will take place at the Finnish church home: 1500 Doctor Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec CFF program for Winter/Spring 2012 February 18 February (Saturday) March 6 March (Tuesday) TBD Helmikuu Annual Ski Day Kytölä chalet in the Laurentians: 539, chemin de la Rivière, Piedmont. Bring something for the lunch table and your après-ski beverage! Under the North Star (Täällä Pohjantähden alla) A 2009 film by Timo Koivusalo. Free admission. Coffee/tea and Finnish open-faced sandwiches. Sugaring-Off Party with the Norwegians Time and place to be announced. Maaliskuu April Huhtikuu 3 April (Tuesday) The Birth of a Nation; The Finnish Civil War, 1918 A presentation with numerous pictures, by Jonathan Widell, Lic.LL. Free admission. Coffee/tea and Finnish open-faced sandwiches. May Toukokuu 1 May (Tuesday) Vappu, First of May Place to be announced. June Kesäkuu 5 June (Tuesday) July 3 July (Tuesday) August 4 August (Saturday) Summer Dinner The first summer dinner of the season at a Norwegian restaurant. Ellefsen, 414, rue St. Zotique East. Heinäkuu Summer Dinner Close to the Montreal Jazz Festival. Place to be announced. Elokuu Lisa s Summer BBQ Lisa Makinen s home in Pierrefonds: Thorburn. A potluck barbecue, BYOB. 25 August (Saturday) Corn Roast Hosted by Susan Laflamme and Dorothy and Bill Nickelt at their cottage in Brownsburg-Chatham: Pine Hill, 6 Belvedere Road. Potluck lunch, BYOB. Canadian Friends of Finland De Montréal Canadian Friends of Finland de Montréal is a non-political, non-sectarian and non-profit organization that fosters cultural relations between Finland and Canada. Monthly meetings include presentations by local and Finnish speakers, film viewings, ethnic dinners, parties, sauna barbeques, ski days, etc. The association does not receive any financial support from Finland or any other sources. The sole income used to organize the abovementioned events comes from yearly membership fees and coffee/sandwich sales. CFF MONTRÉAL 2012 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION First-time member / Single: x $20.00 Students / Seniors (+65): x $15.00 Additional family members: x $ 5.00 Couple: x $25.00 Senior couple: x $20.00 Name: Address: Phone: (Home) (Cell) Please send to: Canadian Friends of Finland Montreal Branch 1500 Docteur Penfield Ave. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1B9 3

4 Message from the Pastor This old house Last month I took my daughter, for the first time in years, to the town in Saskatchewan where I grew up. One afternoon we set aside a half-hour (that's all it took!) to criss-cross the town so I could show her a couple of the houses where I had lived when I was her age. It was probably mildly boring for her; who knows? She was polite, and yet it wasn't her history. But certainly the little tour struck me. On the one hand, it was interesting to see the changes that inevitably come with the years. New owners do new things, and one of the houses barely looked the same at all. On the other hand, it was interesting to still feel a connection with a place I had left so long ago. And yet I could tell, as I looked at these places, that I didn't feel the same sense of belonging and ownership that I had felt when I lived there. I realized that, no matter how important a building feels when you're in it, like the old saying goes "life moves on". And with that life, so do our feelings. It will be hard, in the next few months, to say goodbye to the Finnish church home. There have been so many memories made within these walls. That feeling of loss can't be underestimated: here is where the classes were taught, here is where we gathered for communion, here is where the banquets were served, and the Kanteles played, and the choir sang, and the bazaar cups were displayed...the memories will go on and on. We need to honour the ways in which God blessed the little Finnish church in that space and time. Then, when the time comes, like the children of Israel on the edge of the Promised Land, it will be time to move on. Like them, the transitional time won't be easy...who wants to live in "tents" when before one lived in the homes of Egypt? Crossing a wilderness to a new home isn't an easy task. But, like the ancient Israelites, we have God as our guide. God goes before us, and knows the path even when we don't. Like Psalm 121 says, "God knows your going out and your coming in, from this time forth and forevermore". Our help truly comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. And the maker of our past, and our futures. As I reflected when I looked at those old houses in Saskatchewan, a house truly becomes a home only when something happens: when we live in it and make it our own. This will happen again, in a new place. We pray for courage, for patience, and for community as we wait for this transition to begin. Pastor Matthew 4

5 St. Michael's Evangelical Finnish Lutheran Church / Pyhän Mikaelin Suomalainen Evankelisluterilainen Kirkko 1500 Docteur Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H3G 1B9 Tel: (514) Montreal Lutheran Council: All events are at the church home if location is not mentioned otherwise. Kaikki tapahtumat ovat kirkkokodilla jos paikkaa ei ole erikseen mainittu. Church program for Winter/Spring 2012 January 22 (Sunday) Annual general meeting of the congregation Seurakunnan vuosikokous February 11 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School 12 (Sunday) Church service with holy communion Ehtoollisjumalanpalvelus, Pr Matthew Anderson March 3 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School 4 (Sunday) Devotion and Kalevala Day celebration Hartaustilaisuus ja Kalevalanpäiväjuhla 24 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School Suomi-Seura annual meeting Suomi-Seura vuosikokous 25 (Sunday) Church service with holy communion in Ottawa Ehtoollisjumalanpalvelus Ottawassa, Pr. Matti Terho 31 (Saturday) Finnish War Veterans annual meeting Aseveljet vuosikokous April 8 (Sunday) Easter church service with holy communion Ehtoollisjumalanpalvelus, Pr. Matthew Anderson 14 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School 28 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School May 6 (Sunday) Church service with holy communion Ehtoollisjumalanpalvelus, Pr. Matthew Anderson 26 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School June 9 (Saturday) Children s Finnish Language School 10 (Sunday) Church service with holy communion Ehtoollisjumalanpalvelus, Pr. Matthew Anderson August 26 (Sunday) Montreal Lutheran Council picnic in Saint-Lazare September 9 (Sunday) Church service with holy communion Ehtoollisjumalanpalvelus, Pr. Matthew Anderson Tammikuu Helmikuu Maaliskuu Huhtikuu Toukokuu Kesäkuu Elokuu Syyskuu 5

6 Finnish Language School n kevätlukukausi 2012 / Spring semester 2012 Finnish Church Home, 1500 Doctor Penfield Avenue, Montreal, Quebec Montrealin Suomen Kielen Koulu on yksi kymmenistä ympäri maailmaa toimivista Suomi-kouluista. Suomi-kouluissa annetaan suomen kielen opetusta suomea toisena kielenä tai äidinkielenään puhuville lapsille, joiden toinen tai molemmat vanhemmat ovat syntyperältään suomalaisia. Koulujen tarkoituksena on tukea lasten suomen kielen ja kulttuurin oppimista sekä hankitun kielitaidon säilyttämistä. Montrealin Suomi-koulu tarjoaa opetusta vauvamuskarista kouluikäisiin lapsiin. Ryhmäjako tehdään vuosittain lasten iän ja kielitaidon perusteella. Kokoonnumme lauantaiaamupäivisin noin kolmen viikon välein suomalaisella kirkolla. Kevätlukukausi alkaa lauantaina Uudet oppilaat voivat ilmoittautua kouluun ottamalla yhteyttä allekirjoittaneeseen. Tervetuloa mukaan! The Montreal Finnish Language School is one of dozens of Suomi-koulu that operate around the world. The mission of these schools is to help preserve and transmit Finnish cultural heritage and language skills to younger generations of Finns living abroad. Classes offered at the Montreal school range from music playschool for babies to writing and reading exercises for school-aged children. Classes are held at the Finnish church on Saturday mornings every three weeks. The Spring semester starts on Saturday, 14 January New students can register by contacting the undersigned. Welcome! Lisätietoja ja ilmoittautumiset/ More information and registration: Marja Coady: (514) / marjacoady@hotmail.com Elisa Pylkkänen: (514) / elisa.pylkkanen@mail.mcgill.ca Finnish translator Jonathan Widell, Certified Translator, LL.M, Lic.LL., MA Telephone: jonathan.widell@gmail.com MONTREALIN SUOMI-SEURAN VUOSIKOKOUS Lauantaina, 24. maaliskuuta klo Kirkkokodilla TERVETULOA! SUOMEN ASEVELJET KANADASSA Montrealin Kerho VUOSIKOKOUS Lauantaina, 31. maaliskuuta, klo Kirkkokodilla TERVETULOA! 6

7 Finnish associations / Puhelinmuistio Canadian Friends of Finland President William Luomala Vice-President Jonathan Widell Secretary Barbara Rudnicka Treasurer Kirsti Moberg Newsletter coordinator Anneli Lukka Chambre de Commerce Finno-Canadienne President Christian de Saint Rome Finnish War Veterans Montrealin Aseveljet Puheenjohtaja Ismo Makkonen Jäsensihteeri Eeva-Liisa Makkonen Rahastonhoitaja Pirkko Metsämarttila Montrealin Suomalainen newsletter Katja Frostell kfrostell@hotmail.com Ismo Makkonen imakkonen@videotron.ca Montrealin Suomi-Seura Puheenjohtaja Marja-Leena Taras Varapuheenjohtaja Mirjam Kytölä Sihteeri Pirkko Metsämarttila Rahastonhoitaja Markku Kytölä Library Kirjasto Anneli Lukka St. Michael s Finnish Church Pyhän Mikaelin Ev. Lut. seurakunta Kirkkokoti / church home Pastori Matthew Anderson Puheenjohtaja Bill Luomala Varapuheenjohtaja Caj Frostell Sihteeri Ismo Makkonen Rahastonhoitaja Pirkko Metsämarttila Finnish Language School Suomen Kielen Koulu Children's group Lapsiryhmät Elisa Pylkkänen elisa.pylkkanen@mail.mcgill.ca (514) Adult group Aikuisryhmät Maisa Suhonen maisasuhonen@hotmail.com (514) HERKKUJA SUOMALAISEEN MAKUUN Turun Sinappia, Salmiakkia, Abban Silliä ja kalatahnoja, lakkahilloa, Kulta Katriina-kahvia, Pandan lakritsia, Fazerin makeisia, raesokeria, yms. Tervetuloa ostoksille Queen Maryn ja Côte-Des-Neigesin kulmaan! 5060 Côte Des Neiges (corner of Queen Mary) Montreal, Quebec. H3V 1G6 Tel: Mökki vuokrattavana Vuokrattavana lomapaikka Laurentian vuoristossa viikonlopuksi, viikoksi tai sopimuksen mukaan. Kaikki mukavuudet ja sauna. Vain 45 min. ajomatka Montrealista. Tiedustelut: Markku Kytölä Koti: Työ: Kännykkä:

8 The Community Kuvat: Anneli Lukka Itsenaïsyysjuhlat Ottawan sinivalkoisissa itsenäisyysjuhlissa joulukuussa vasemmalta suurlähettiläs Risto Piipponen, Ottawan Canadian Friends of Finlandin entinen puheenjohtaja Ida Capern ja Ihanat aurinkoiset säät s 62 itsenäisyysjuhlaa ja 11 Armas Joki, 88, joka on nähnyt suurlähettilästä Pääkaupungin nuorta ja kaunista polvea vas. Aila Coderre, Maria Jussila ja Nikola Michaud Saint-Antoine-Abbé Montrealin Suomen-ystävien syyskuisissa omenanpoimiaisissa Saint-Antoine-Abbéssa Vapaan Sanan toimittaja Anne Tastula leikki Wilhelm Telliä Paul Taraksen hänen selkänsä takana pystyttäessä tikapuita kivutakseen omenapuuhun Anneli Podymow ja Martti Kytölä pistelevät maukkaita McIntosheja ja Cortlandeja pusseihinsa The dates and places of the CFF sauna picnics will be announced later this year. 8

9 Monthly Montreal Finnish nights out In September 2011, I started reorganizing the defunct Montreal Finnish pub nights. Since 2003, they had been organized by Ninja Häggblom. We have now met in groups of more than 10 people, mainly students and young working people, in various settings: Ye Olde Orchard, The House of Jazz, McKibbins Irish Pub and Club Altitude737. We peaked at about 25 attendees at McKibbins in November and hope to draw about 30 people or more at some point this year, for instance for a Finnish tango night in the summer if we find someone to play. A possible venue is Les Bobards, which boasts a broad selection of so-called world music. Most of us have been Finns de souche, but participants have included friends of Finland as well. Some of them are interested in Finnish culture per se, others are participating alongside their Finnish partners. This is a trend to be encouraged. The idea has been to explore this beautiful city of ours together, avoid staying in one place more than once, discovering different styles and neighbourhoods every month, and of course learning to know each other and each other s cultures. Even if the group has consisted of mainly young people, I would like to encourage everyone to keep an eye on the events and participate in anything that appeals to them. Ours is not meant to be an exclusive club. The plan is to explore different venues, some of which play little to no music, thus providing a setting for conversation and fellowshipping, while others are designedly very loud. (I would like to visit Foufounes électriques in April if they let me in.) The events will be created on Facebook and mentioned in the newsletters. I will try to dress up our nights out as cultural events, finding a cause to celebrate in the Finnish calendar each month. This might allow us to resuscitate a Finnish cultural scene in Montreal, possibly in the (very) long run. If you are interested, why not come and join us! Jonathan Widell jonathan.widell@gmail.com Lentoliput Suomeen ja muualle Europpaan nyt tilattavissa Soita Martille Toll Free: Mobile: martti.pervala@on.aibn.com Kemp Travel Group 9