get ready...

Uff Da!*

It's that time of year again...Anna Day 2005 is coming December 9th!!! One week away! It's pretty much my favorite holiday after Christmas, Thanksgiving, my birthday, and Halloween. Right now you are probably thinking one of three things:

1. Hooray! I love Anna Day!
2. Who does this girl think she is, celebrating her stupid, made-up, narcissistic holiday again?
3. What the crap is Anna Day?

If you were thinking #1, then you've got the spirit and have probably enjoyed celebrating it in the past. If you were thinking something more along the lines of #s 2 and 3, then read on. In Finland, every day of the year matches up with a given name. I did not make it up. It's been this way for centuries, kind of an honoring of saints type thing. The name day for Anna is December 9th.

Now you may be asking yourself, "What do you do on Anna Day?" I like to use the day to celebrate my Suomi pride and my Scandinavian heritage in general. One year I went to Memories of Finlandgift shop, which used to be in College Park. People have been known to make cards, bake brownies, or wake me up at noon with an ice cold ginger ale and a bag of Skittles. Serenades, poetry, and walks in the snow are also appreciated (hey, it might have snowed by then). If you really wanna do something special, you could give me a back massage. Or we could trade. Maybe...learn a Finnish song, some kind of Finnish dance (if they exist) or...uuh, go to a sauna. I dunno. Adopt a reindeer?

Does this holiday have to center around me? Oh no, I am simply the one who brought it to the States. So when you see someone on December 9th, regardless of name, sex, age, or cultural background...wish them a Happy Anna Day! After all, who doesn't enjoy a random reason to celebrate?

Feel free to submit any other Anna Day Celebration ideas...or just surprise us all.

*Uff Da's actually Norwegian, but whatever. Both Scandinavian.