Kekri, Finnish Halloween
New Year was originally celebrated all over northern Europe at the end of October or the beginning of November. On the British Isles Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic Samhain celebrations marking the new year; the word Halloween evolved from All-hallows-even – the night before All Saints’ Day. This tradition eventually was exported to America by Irish. During this trip the turnips changed to pumpkins and the day was repackaged from remembering the dead to Halloween with tricks and treats, and is now being resold back to Europe.
What is All Saints’ Day today used to be in Finland the biggest and most important event of the entire year – called Kekri, Köyri, Keyri or Köyry, depending on the geographical area. The word with its different variations is old, deriving from the proto-Finno-Ugric word kekraj, which means both “wheel” and “cycle”.
Kekri also refers to the Karelian god which protects cattle. (There’s also a theory that the word might even be a translation from Greek, Saint Gregorius being the patron saint of cattle.) Kekri has been called a guardian spirit of cattle and fertility. It was said that the feast guaranteed a good harvest and healthy livestock in the coming year if the spirits were pleased. The ancestors were honoured as well, as they are the guardians of the household and ensure prosperity.
Kekri meant the last day of the year. In ancient Finnish religion it was the harvest festival marking the end of the agricultural season that also coincided with the time when the cattle were taken in from pasture and settled for a winter’s stay in the barn.
Kekri originally fell on Michaelmas (St. Michael’s Day), September 29, but was later shifted to November 1, All Saints’ Day. In the old system of reckoning time, Kekri was a critical period between the old and new years when the ancestor spirits came to visit their former homes. The living accordingly held feasts honouring the dead.
Cattle were auctioned and servants had their one free week of leisure – some would seek a new household at this time. Landowners were obligated to invite the peasant sharecroppers to the manor for a meal.
Each household would feast once they were finished with harvest, brought in the cattle for the winter, and had otherwise prepared by brewing special Kekri beer, distilling liquor or moonshine, and slaughtering a lamb for a Kekri meal. Kekri was a joyous festival that included singing, playing, dancing, and eating well. Only family members were invited to eat but the invitation included both the living and the dead.
Kekri was the only day in the year when the dead were allowed to enter the world of the living. It was common to leave offerings of food for them in the woods, in places around the lot or in adjacent buildings. Spells were cast and fortunes for the coming year were told. When the sauna was hot, spirits were allowed to go in first.
Parties could also be seen roaming around the villages. A group of bizarre-looking youngsters would go from house to house, wearing clothing and fur up-side-down, all kinds of trinkets hanging from it, and fashioning horns. Masquerading like this, they were called Kekripukki (Kekri goat) or Kekriätär (a female Kekri figure wearing all white), who represented the dead.
These parties went from house to house asking to be treated to a meal. If this “treat” was not given, as a “trick” the guests would start breaking the oven in the house. However, usually an agreement was reached and as thanks, different plays and dances were performed to the hosts in the house amidst general feasting and merry-making around a bonfire.
Often the Kekri goat was a bachelor (or two, for a four-legged buck) and other unmarrieds would portray various spirits. A “goat” visited often also on Nuutti’s day (the 13th of January), and nowadays on another day in December (Finnish word for Santa Claus, Joulupukki, literally means “Christmas goat”).
The traditional main feast was often smoked lamb. It was eaten with great care and sometimes the bones were run around the cattle barn three times for luck before they were buried in the sheep stable to ensure good lambing the next spring. Food offerings were placed for the ancestors at the base of a sacred tree and the spirits were recognized with sustenance in the stables, sauna or barn so they would not be tempted to do mischief. This festival time was not considered part of the new or the old year and was special as the veil was thin between the worlds.
Tradition had it that the drunker the father of the household was, the better the barley and rye harvests. The mother, of course, had to stay more sober to ensure the feast table was full for the Kekri goat and his entourage and the sauna fire was hot for the ancestors who had the honour of bathing first; duly given hot water, soaps, towels and vihtas (also known as “vasta”, which is a bouquet tied together of small fresh birch branches with leaves on, for the sauna bathers to swat themselves with).
Today Finnish holiday traditions are a blend of their own ancient pagan, Eastern Byzantine Orthodoxy and Lutheran Christianity. In the 19th century, Kekri was linked with Pyhäinpäivä (All Saints’ Day), a holiday dedicated to saints and the dead, celebrated on the first of November. Kekri itself has moved to October 31. The last time it was officially celebrated was in 1954 in Kokemäki. Since 1955 All Saints’ Day has been celebrated on the first Saturday of November.
Kekri in its ancient form has influenced the Finnish celebrating of Christmas and New Year. As Christianity merged traditions (beginning in the 12th century), the celebration of the New Year moved to January and the Kekripukki (Kekri goat) morphed into the Joulupukki (St. Nicholas or Santa Claus) of modern Christmas. Many Kekri traditions and customs have become part of Yuletide and New Year celebrations – such as the forecasting of the coming year with molten tin dribbled into a bucket of water straw decorations – and familiar delicacies including rutabaga and potato casserole.
[From various sources.]
romaincrisis
tangentwithtanner
gummygunk
gamechangershow
2087
gracieabrams
dailybridgerton
