In my last post I claimed that Finnish language is a unique one and here I want to continue this theme.
Recently I've had a thought about why our months are called like they are called. In Russian the names of months are similar to those ones, which European languages have. I've found out that months took their names from famous Roman and Greek gods and goddesses, well-known persons like Julius Caesar and Octavian August and also from different Roman numbers. But, of course, (who would doubt that?) in Finnish language it's all different. Let's meet Finnish months and know, what each month means.
Firstly I should say, that the name of a month in Finnish is formed from an old term and the word "kuu" that means "moon" and these terms are referred to farming year in Finland. So, let's start!
Tammikkuu - January. It's an oak month, because "tammi" means oak in Finnish, but in some dialects it can also mean a heart or a core. Tammikkuu is a middle of the winter as if it's its core.
Helmikuu - February. Helmi in Finnish means pearl, it's so beautiful, isn't it? Hey, February borns, you can boast that you were born in this month :) This wonderful name comes from small drops that get frozen on the twigs of trees that you can see glittering in the sun in helmi.
Maaliskuu - March. It's an earth month. "Maa" means ground and "maalinen" is earthy. This symbolises the first melting of snow and appearance of bare ground.
Huhtikuu - April. "Huhta" means cleared woodlands. Usually in huhtikuu people burnt woods to have more space for cultivation.
Toukokuu - May. This time is a planting time and the word for this process in Finnish is "touko".
Kesäkuu - June. Everything is easy here. "Kesä" means summer and kesäkuu is the first summer month.
Heinäkuu - July. "Heinä" in Finnish is hay and heinäkuu is the month when hay is cut.
Elokuu - August. One of meaning of "elo" is life, but this word also had another definition in old Finnish and meant "crop", so elokuu is a harvest month.
Syyskuu - September. Everything is trivial here. "Syys" is a word for "autumn" and syyskuu is the first autumn month.
Lokakuu - October. It's a mud month, because "loka" means mud. Usually it rains a lot in lokakuu, creating muddy ground. It's very pessimistic kind of thought, don't you think so? October is not only about rains and bad weather, it's also about colourful woods. But maybe the reason is that no-one is happy since winter is ahead.
Marraskuu - November. The most interesting month for me, because "marras" is the word for dead. Obviously, all nature slips away into sleep - nothing grows, trees are bare. A bit depressing :(
Joulukuu - December. The joy comes back now, because "joulu" is Christmas🎄!
Which month were you born? Write in comments (in Finnish, of course 😉)!