When it comes to traditional and pagan festivals, it really depends on the region! I am then sorry if I fail to mention something that is central for some other region I'm not familiar with. Based on traditions in Kainuu specifically, I made such a calender, but it's for the most part also applicable for many other regions (maybe dates may be off a little bit, this one might be missing something that is practised in another region, and cheese days tend to be in many different places):
| Talvennapa | Around the middle of January (depends on the region) | Middle of winter, the coldest time of the year. |
|---|---|---|
| Laskiainen | 7 weeks before Easter (modern), usually in February | Celebration for textile handicrafts. Sliding down a slope (with, for example, a toboggan).
Food: Pea soup, laskiaispulla |
| Suviyöt | April 13 | Beginning of the summer half of the year. |
| Huutoyöt | April 23 | Yelling a lot to scare away wolves. |
| Kevätristi | May 3 | The last days to set cattle outdoors. Family gathers at a sacred tree in festive clothing to eat and drink beer. |
| Vakat (Forest Finnish: Ukon keikkeet) |
May 25 | A celebration after spring sowing, for the whole village. A container (vakka) full of food is sacrificed. Sometimes specifically held in sacred groves. Can include ritual dancing, kneeling in a circle. Splashing water and reading incantations for rain. Some Christian claims about ritual sexual intercourse, but no historical evidence of such.
Food: A lot. Also beer; as many as possible need to be drunk to ensure good harvest: Ukon malja "Ukko's goblet". Deities: Ukko so he'd give good weather, the ritual awakening of Sämpsä |
| Ukonjuhla | Summer solstice, Friday and Saturday on the week of summer solstice (modern) |
Burning a bonfire, dedicating and decorating a birch to be a sacred tree. Decorations out of bird cherry flowers and branches. Thunder before this day is bad, after it good.
Food: Ukon malja "Ukko's goblet" of beer. Deities: Ukko |
| Keskikesä | July 13 | The warmest time of the year. In Estonia, this day is known as the birthday of the bear. In Sotkamo, Kainuu, the first Sunday in July (so about a week before Keskikesä) is also a time to go to Hiidenportti in Sotkamo and conduct some worship rituals (which have shifted into just dance parties in the modern day) for the forest gods. |
| Juustopyhä | August 24 | Cheese holiday! When there is a "cheese holiday" depends on the region. There were general festivities, the name comes from the fact that cheese was gifted to (Christian) priests on this day. Also I love cheese so I'm keeping that name. |
| Kekri | First Saturday of November | The biggest festival of the year, which also marks the new year. A great feast (with beer of course), traditionally including the slaughter and eating of a sheep. Fires are burnt, and food is sacrificed at the birch chosen on Ukonjuhla. |
| Joulu, pesäpäivät | December 24, 25, 26, or winter solstice | The Sun is in its "nest", so it is the darkest time of the year. Birdfeeding. If there is a celebratory meal, it pales in comparison to Kekri's. |
I don't have many mentions to this, as it's not practised in my region. However, in Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa, there is a traditional festival held called Hela or Helkajuhla in spring around Pentecost. There, special runosongs called helkavirret are sung. Bonfires called helavalkeat or toukovalkeat are burned there, as well as in Häme, Satakunta and Uusimaa, in order to frive away evil spirits. Cattle were also made to walk through fires in order to prevent disease. There was mead and dancing. Though the idea behind the festivities is pre-Christian, the runosongs sung in Pirkanmaa are thoroughly filled with Christian themes. There, maidens formed two lines, singing the runosongs and walking through a ritual route to Helkavuori "Helka hill". There, they formed a circle, which has been thought to symbolize the Sun.
I'm sure this tradition is very precious to Western Finns, but considering I'm not one, it's never been in my personal life.
