Today Finland celebrates Kalevala day. This is a flag day, which means that
the Finnish flag can be seen (almost) everywhere in Finland.
Kalevala is the Finnish national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish
and Karelian oral folklore and mythology. This book played a major role in the
development of the Finnish national identity. The first version of this book was
published in 1935. The meter of the poems in this book is called Kalevala Meter
(a trochaic tetrameter). This book is and has been a source of inspiration for
many different artists. (Not only Finnish artists: J.R.R. Tolkien found
inspiration in this epic too!) Jean Sibelius, a Finnish composer, composed many symphonies
inspired by Kalevala. (e.g. Kullervo Symphony, Lemminkäinen Suite,…)
There's also jewelry inspired by Kalevala.
and here are some paintings inspired by this epic:
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| Akseli Gallen-Kallela: Lemminkäinen's mother |
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Akseli Gallen-Kallela: The Defense of The Sampo
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