This wonderful first day cover with a miniature sheet on Memories of Finland was issued on 2nd Nov in 2007. In the center is a flag of Finland along with photos from the albums of Finnish people. These stamps are in keeping with the ethos of the Finnish people. Their stamps are very people-centric. I wish the Dept of Posts in India learnt something from this. We normally issue stamps showing mugs of obnoxious creatures and call them commemoratives. This is done only because it is politically expedient. Collectors in India have to spend a lot of money accumulating such trash.
On the left are Black &White older photos, and on the right are colourful and more cheerful newer pictures.
The photos are
- Man with his horse working in the snowy forest in 1930's in Taivalkoski.
- Man with his horse working in the snowy forest in 1930's in Taivalkoski.
- A young shepherd girl with a big horn made of birch bark (a traditional material for many things) in 1943. You can see a woman milking cows behind the girl.
- Two pair of twins of the same family skiing in 1950's.
- Drinking coffee outside in 1958
- Bonfire in 1999
- A young ski jumper in 1991
- Jumping into water in 2005
- A man ice-fishing in Viitasaari. Ice fishing is a very popular hobby in Finland. They also like swimming in a hole in the ice.
The last one about a man ice-fishing brings back nostalgic memories of my two winters in Vladivostok in 1967/1969, when our Soviet friends had introduced this very appetising sport to us Indians on “Ruskiye Ostrov” there. This lovely cover was sent to me by my friend Ella.
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