Today we celebrate Johan Ludvig Runeberg day in Finland and eat “Runeberg pies” named after his wife, Fredrika Runeberg, also a writer
Today we celebrate Johan Ludvig Runeberg day in Finland and eat “Runeberg pies” named after his wife, Fredrika Runeberg, also a writer
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Runeberg is one of the national poets of Finland, and an important figure in the political awakening of the Fennonization movement in Finland, which advocated for more rights for Finns in the Russian Grand Duchy.
Though Runeberg spoke Swedish and wrote basically exclusively in Swedish, his works described Finnish life and the important life of Finnish peasantry in his famous work Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat(Tales of ensign Stål).
This piece included the Swedish version of the later Finnish national anthem, Vårt Land, *Maamme*.
The Vänrikki Stoolin tarinat were published in the year 1848, which was a major revolutionary year in Europe for nationalist, home rule, liberal and workers’ movements.
Uprisings were from Paris to Vienna to Milan to Poland and all across Europe.
Johan Ludvig Runeberg’s wife, Fredrika Runeberg was also an author and novelist, though less known. However, Fredrika Runeberg is credited with inventing the Runeberg pies(picture 2), which are relatively simple but delicious treats eaten during and around Runeberg day.
[Here is Runeberg’s statue unveiling in Helsinki in 1885](https://i.imgur.com/UUIDEhc.jpg) . You can tell he was an important figure for Finns and Finnish Swedes for advancing national culture, language and arts.
Despite Runeberg speaking Swedish, he influenced the Finnish culture that lead to the language debate of the 1850s – 1880s led by Johan Vilhelm Snellman.