Today is Aleksis Kivi's Day. It's a national flag day in Finland. Aleksis Kivi (born Aleksis Stenvall) was playwright and a poet, some of whose works are considered classics including Seitsemän veljestä (The Seven Brothers). He died a broken man in ignomy and poverty at the age of 38 in 1872, plagued by alcoholism and serious mental health problems, some of the latter of which have been suggested to have been the result of advanced borreliosis. Critics hated his work in his day because it didn't fit with the nationalistic idealism of his day.
This is Aleksis Kivi's brother's and his wife's house. The couple had three children, which means that this cabin was inhabited by six people. It's been made into a museum. My family and I visited it in July 2018.
This day is associated with an embarrassing school memory of mine. Finland is bilingual. Swedish is the second national language like French in Canada. The other national language is a compulsory subject in school for everyone.
One morning I was sitting in Swedish class. It was in the late eighties when I was in middle school. I was very tired that morning and not really thinking straight. Suddenly, the teacher addressed me asking me a question. The exchange went as follows:
- The teacher: Vilken dag är det idag? (What day is it today?)
- Me: Det är Aleksis Kives dag.
That put a wry smile on the teacher's face. I heard someone chuckle in the back of the classroom. Kivi is a Finnish family name that means "stone". Proper nouns are inflected in Finnish just like common nouns and the genitive case of "kivi" is "kiven". In Swedish, however, you just add an "s". The right answer was: "Det är Aleksis Kivis dag."
- The teacher: Ursäkta, jag hörde inte. (Excuse me, I didn't hear that.)
- Me: Det är Aleksis Kives dag..
I was completely oblivious to what I had just said. Everybody was laughing because "kives" means "testicle". My half asleep brain just didn't register.
Ha :) Must have had quite a pair to get a national holiday!
The sad thing is that it isn't even a national holiday. I was at school when this happened. You just hoist the flag.
Aleksis Kivi was a man who went his own way and paid the price for that. I've read his most famous work, The Seven Brothers a few years ago. It was part of the curriculum in school. I actually enjoyed it as an adult.
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Great story enjoyed reading it. Love the historical part and the photos. Love house 💕👍🏻
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Aleksis Kivi's brother was a tailor.
Literally a minute ago, I just learned that Aleksis Kivi having to live in his brother's house in his final years before his premature death wasn't the only tragedy that took place in the house. About four decades later, Aleksis' Kivi's brother and his second wife - the first one had died in an accident fifteen years earlier - were brutally murdered. They were stabbed to death possibly by a 38-year-old vagrant. The murder trial resulted in a not guilty verdict because there was insufficient evidence. That little cabin is actually a house of horrors.
Today, it is owned by the student body of the university of Helsinki. The student body is the very wealthy because it owns over a billion euros worth of property in central Helsinki.
More information:
https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/raaka-kaksoismurha-aleksis-kiven-kuolinmokissa-kansalliskirjailijan-veljen-julma-murhamysteeri-vaivaa-edelleen/7107864
There happened a lot in that small family. Wonder why. The creative, restless mind or envy. Wonder how it feels to be in that house.
Insufficient effidence... a brutal killer came away with it. Thanks for sharing the link. Will read it now.
Perhaps you like to share the link on the new discord group as well even.if you not need an upvote. It is good to read something different.
@voxmortis - Promotion Discord Server. Join the group via the link in the post -upvote a post in the list and leave your link.
Thank you again and taking the time to answer. I wish you a great day. 💕
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The text is in Finnish.
Here's a link to a page translated into English by Google.
http://tiny.cc/sxtcez
It's not of a very high quality. "Calf" is criminal slang, the English equivalent of which is "rat". "Irishman" refers to "vagrant". The original text makes no reference to Irish people in any way. Google mistakenly thinks "vagrant" refers to Irish travellers, which is a very different matter altogether having nothing to do with this incident.
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