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Everyday culture
Sauna, epic poetry, midsummer, the kantele and the quiet habits that shape Finnish life.
Heritage
From a Bronze Age burial site to wooden churches, fortress islands and industrial mills.
Crafts & design
Ryijy rugs, puukko knives, glass, ceramics and the rise of modern Finnish design.
History of Finnish art
The Golden Age of the 1890s and the artists who imagined a nation.
About this journal
Northern Light Journal collects short essays and reading notes on Finnish cultural history. The pieces are written for curious general readers and are meant as starting points: each page ends with suggestions for museums and places that reward a visit in person.
Finland is often described through a few clichés. The essays here try to look a little closer at the long conversation between folk tradition and modernity, which runs through almost everything the country has made.