In the European Arctic Midsummer nowadays marks mostly the start of the summer holidays. But at the roots of this big holiday, celebrated on or close to the longest day of the year, are pre-christian traditions. Asking from the spirits for a good harvest and for protection from evil forces were at the centre of …
Continue reading Arctic Midsummer – party time with pagan roots
Many herders, especailly in the Sub-Arctic, are threatened by the increased number of wolves, eating entire reindeer herds. In Australia they go the opposite way now: they try to revive a species of wolf that went extinct in the early 20th century, the last one from Tasmania in 1936. It's a genetics lab experiment that …
It was more than ten years ago during our first visit to Santa Claus village – a tourist attraction in Rovaniemi in the north of Finland. My 6-year-old daughter asked Santa Claus why his reindeer can fly in the sky. Surely, this could not be true! Last summer, when she was in the Yamal tundra, she did …
Continue reading If Santa Claus’ reindeer can fly, what about other reindeer?
Arctic Anthropology 