Mikkelin Paiva / Kekri Festival in Finland

Saint Michael by Lieven van Lathem, 1430-1493. Found in the public domain on Getty Open Content.


In Finland, the first Sunday of October is a special celebration called Mikkelin Paiva, or St. Michael’s Day. St. Michael’s Day is celebrated throughout the world in honor of the archangel Michael in Christianity. Some countries celebrate it on September 29 and others on November 8; however, in Finland it is celebrated on the first Sunday of October. It is also known as Michaelmas. St. Michael the Archangel is thought to protect the church from evil and his festival is also associated with the start of a new business year, the autumn equinox, and the changing of seasons. Goose is a traditional dish for the festival and in times past a goose could be used as rent payment during this time. Ginger is another traditional food for this holiday. In Finland, autumn is called “ruska” and some of the produce associated with harvesting at this time are mushrooms, raspberries, bilberries, lingonberries, and cloudberries.

A rural farm in Finland. Photo found in the public domain on SnappyGoat.com.

     Michaelmas absorbed the ancient pagan Finnish festival of Kekri (also spelled Keyri or Käyri). Kekri was a harvest festival that was celebrated independently by farmers after they brought in the last of their harvest. “Kekri” was also the name of the spirits thought to help farmers with their work. A feast was prepared for the Kekri and left for them to enjoy. The day brought much feasting, dancing, singing, and thorough cleaning of the home. In the 20th century, it also adopted modern Halloween traditions that came from America such as costumes and sweets.

A Finnish woman cleaning her home in preparation for the Kekri Festival. Photo by the University of Jyvaskyla on Wiki Commons.

Koyri goat performer in Finland. Photo by Ahti Rytkonen on Wiki Commons.

     According to the Viaporin Kekri website, “The main character of the festival was a Kekri Buck, a young man dressed in a goat like costume. He would roam around the village at night asking for offerings and giving a promise of fertility for land and cattle for the next year’s harvest in return.” In 2015, Viaporin Kekri revived Kekri at the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress and it is now an annual event.

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress in Finland. Photo by www.FinlandLocalGuide.com.

An exciting video preview of the Kekri revival festival at the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress.

Finnish wind mill. Photo found in the public domain on SnappyGoat.com.

15th - 16th century Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna, Finland. Photo found in the public domain by Matti Kovanen.

A Finnish reindeer. Photo found in the public domain on SnappyGoat.com.

A beautiful video of St. Michael's Church in Keminmaa, Finland.

To learn about similar food offerings to spirits in China, click here

REFERENCES:

“Kekri.” The Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kekri

MacDonald, Margaret Read, Editor. The Folklore of World Holidays, First Edition. Gale Research Inc., 1992.

Perrotta, Andrew. “The Feast of St. Michael’s.” https://www.feastofstmichael.com/

Viaporin Kekri. http://www.viaporinkekri.fi/

Visit Finland. https://www.visitfinland.com/