This Thanksgiving break I had a trip to Upper Michigan with my friend (he claimed his Finnish root from both sides of his families). As I traveled further from Iron Mountain to Houghton as well as Calumet, I have noticed one special thing here.
I really like Upper Michigan, not just only about its nature or scenery but rather their Finnish culture is still alive here. As I learned, Finnish descendants in the US preserved their cultures better than other European descendants, despite of hard works in mining and other. I have visited a lot of houses there and they are learning what is called âSisuâ, there is even Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, MI.
These Finnish descendants may not speak Finnish but they preserved their cultures here so well that for me, Upper Michigan is another Finland. They are so Finnish that some houses here even raise Finnish flag either on their houses and some places have Finnish language on board, books, or even churches. (Not just only in small cities but rather rural places)
So my question here is what do Finnish people (from Finland) think about their descendants in other countries? Are they proud of Finnish contribution outside Finland?.. etc
Picture: I got this book from my friendâs maternal grandparentsâ house near Calumet, MI, they are still practicing Finnish culture.
If you guys are interest, I recommend you guys to visit Upper Michigan.
by Vietnam-1234
29 comments
Finnish descendants are bonded with genetics and I think most of this sub is against an ethnicity-based definition of a Finn.
But yet the same global progressive English-speaking people defend the rights of the Sami people and their rights for their living areas, that is based on ethnicity.
Sometimes it is a bit contradictory.
I would imagine that people on r/Finland are interested in the Finnish language, for example. Yet, the use of Finnish is forbidden in this sub. So this sub is a hub for English-speaking discussion on Finland, but I find it a bit problematic. Like, Finland is just another market area for English-speaking IT workers to choose from..
I would rather highlight Finland and its distinctivity (3000 years of Finnish-speaking cultural heritage) compared to global English-speaking bulk.
I would say most Finns don’t really give a shit if someone claims Finnish ancestry. And why should they? Upper Michigan is not “another Finland”. It’s Upper Michigan.
Finns do often get weirdly excited when something related to the country is reported on the news, say. Descendants of Finns living in America are not exciting. Why would we be proud of some Finns moving to the US generations ago? It has nothing to do with us.
Also, sisu is not pronounced see-soo, so I don’t know what kind of “Finnish culture” they’re practicing. That framed poster is extremely cringeworthy.
Got (distant) family up there, and I happen to know ~20 american Finns quite well.
It’s a thing. Not quite Finnish, but I love the enthusiasm.
Pretty much how Europeans often view Italian/Irish/whatevernationality-Americans. Often cringe and Americanised culturally, not representing the original culture much. Even worse if they canât speak a word of the original language but claim to totally be 100% Italian or 1/8 Viking or whatnot.
But tbh Finnish-Americans arenât that much talked about in general, I doubt most Finns really remember they exist nor consider them Finnish.
If there are some different Finnish or âFinnishâ cultural activities going on in the US, just enjoy it. More power to you.
As long as there isnât a sauna with a carpeting or something, Finns doesnât really care.
It’s not SeeâąSoo it’s sĂsĂč
Language is a very important part of Finnish culture, and if a Finn hears you pronounce “Sisu” as “see-soo” they most definitely will not see you as Finnish lmao
I think it’s endearing. If they’re proud to have Finnish heritage, good for them. They might not be “Finns”, but I personally always welcome finding out more about one’s heritage
We don’t think about you.
Finnish Americans’ version of Finnish culture is very different from the one in Finland. They have actually preserved lots of traditions that have been long forgotten here. Basically they came from the Finnish culture in the 1800s and after that got isolated from us.
If you are hollywood level movie star or othervise celebrity, local tabloids might mention it. But other than that I don’t know if anyone cares.
For context: a lot of people left to work in Sweden, US and other places in the 20th century. Having finnish blood in you is almost given đ
I think itâs pronounced si-Su.
“Pronounced “see-soo”” dawg đ„
‘Murica great yet?
Iâm not Finnish but generally I object to the idea that anyone born and raised in the US can really claim any kind of genuine cultural ties to another country, unless one or both of their were born and raised in that country. Particularly so when they act like certain personality traits are inherited by virtue of where their ancestors were from.
You see it all the time with Irish Americans, Italian Americans, Greek Americans and so on. âIâm Italian we love cookingâ blah blah blah.
Itâs a peculiar type of unprocessed national self-loathing you get from a country of egomaniacs who grew up in an ahistorical cultural desert. To me the whole thing is a source of derision and mockery.
In short: youâre not Finnish or a Finn, and you never will be.
Europeans as a whole dont consider a nationality/ethnicity to be “active” or valid unless you speak the language to a decent degree and you are immersed in and understand the culture. You should also live or have lived there for an extended time OR have parents who are from there.
This disqualifies pretty much every American who claims some European nationality trough past relatives. Americans who make such claims are considered very silly and are often laughed about.
Immigrants who have lived a long time in and integrated into European countries are considered to have a stronger case for their new nationality than such Americans.
Yeah I don’t know why US is so freaking obsessed with “We have preserved your culture better than you have! We are more authentic than the people living in the country” thing.
Cultures develope and change. Being stuck on how one family maybe did things 100 years ago isn’t some ancient correct way that needs chest thumping.
Finland ain’t that big but just how things are done in east and west are very different but both equally Finnish.
But I do think it’s fun that there are these mini-Finlands! There’s some down in Argentina too, my granma lived there as a baby for a while until they moved back to Finland. I found it really interesting to read about their experiences in the jungle. And how freaking brave has it been back in the day to take that journey across Atlantic. Huge investment and risk.
As long as folks there mind their own business, treat each other with the respect they deserve, are happy (but not overly show-off-happy) and have an outdoor sauna for proper löyly I think thatâs pretty cool thereâs people who are proud of their roots.
Nothing wrong with that. Good for you.
Thatâs one nice Sisu picture too. Pronounciation guide might be bit off but then again most finns i know speak rally-english so not going to judge that.
So, Iâd guess that a typical finn âwould not mindâ. (And hopefully this doesnât sound rude as obviously youâve taken effort to get that gift â this is kind of a compliment on Finnish scale)
I was like 30 years old when i realized how many finnish people live in foreign countries. Tbh never before this i did not realize that there must be descendants of finnish people out there. Maybe im alone with this, but i’ve never heard anybody mention about this before.
I once followed few of these finnish groups in FB. Mostly from Florida. They were mostly remembering a country that never existed.
Those people in Michigan are not âpreserving Finnish cultureâ, theyâre LARPing as another nationality, which is a very US-American tradition. A tradition that is seen as very cringeworthy in the rest of the world.
When people from other cultures move to the US, the original culture slowly, generation after generation seeps away and they become one with the melting pot. They might be related to us by blood, but in reality have absolutely nothing in common with us. I think most europeans would agree with me if I said that americans have a strange obsession with ethnicity when it’s not relevant at all to how someone is as a person.
There is a documentary on youtube about the upper Michigan Finnish people by a YouTuber Peter Santanello. To be honest I did not really know about the Finnish people in USA, partly because there weren’t that many, but it was interesting to see how they have kept some finnish things like sauna in their lifes today and what surprised me that they even make pannukakku too.
I visited Suomi College, Calumet and some other places in Michigan about 30 years ago. It was interesting to meet the descendants of Finnish immigrants and to hear their views of Finland. Many of them saw Finland as a semi-developed country, the kind their parents or grandparents left 50 – 100 years ago. They were surprised to hear that we did have televisions and phones.
Yes, they had kept some of the Finnish habits and food, but actually there was very little left of Finnish culture. No offence though. I find it is very natural: you are supposed to adapt to the language and culture of the country you move into. They had a nice mixture of American way of life with a sprinkle of Finnish history and habits. I guess their offspring has even less connection to Finland.
Nothing against any of these areas or people.
But, personally I have always found the Italian/Irish/Whatever-American roleplaying cringe and a bit embarrassing.
Though some here are convinced thouroughly by the popular meme of “if someone is third generation etc of some country, they are not of the country and therefore should not talk about the country as their own” I my think it is facinating that people who left the fatherland still keep some of the culture, feel connection to it, and sometimes even speak the language.
And I am a little bit proud they have kept their heritage like sauna, or sisu, for hundreds of years. Or they even speak few words in Finnish. Or have new kids who want to learn Finnish and Finnish culture. I would gladly take someone from those places to our families summer cabbin and show them the sauna and the lake, and the mosquitoes and the row boat stained of blood after fishing for a day.
I think we could have conversations about Finnish culture, theirs preserved from the past, ours no more valid, but evolved. I would be interested, how do our old pagan beliefs still live among them? How do they see sisu? etc.
I would think conversation between homeland Finns and those who went away would be good.
I think a lot of the strong tie of Americans who have Finnish ancestry has to do with the relatively newish Finnish immigration to the US where weâre not too far removed from our ancestors that first came here in the late 1800âs.
My great-grandparents lived a traditional Finnish farming lifestyle in Michigan amongst other Finnâs and created somewhat insular communities and raised their children the same. Traditional Finnish foods were made, sauna was weekly and an important part of life, the language was spoken, and American Finns married other American Finnâs. The move to âAmericanizationâ happened around WWII where those considered âotherâ were judged for their European traditions and lifestyles. It was often in the best interest to blend in.
In addition, the US isnât that old of a country and weâre all descendants of immigrants. We donât have many purely American traditions born here. American football culture, maybe, but our foods and many of our traditions were not born here and were brought with our ancestors. We like to identify with something other than the soulless end stage capitalist hellscape that is our daily lives and many reach back to those traditions and comfort of previous generations.
Just a few points from the side of an American with Finnish roots.
I personally enjoy seeing my own culture being preserved and appreciated in other countries. Sure, things obviously aren’t exactly like here, but I think people holding onto their heritage is important and beautiful. If I ever visit the States again I might try to make a trip to Upper Michigan. I definitely would love to see how people are doing things around those parts.
I really hate how sisu has become a trendy marketing word for something bigger than life that you should aim to become when it is literally the most lowkey thing ever
âThe finnish wayâ with mountains in the background XD.
Yeah we have no mountains đ
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