50th treatment & Agricola's Day

Hooray for Finnish language, with all its grammatical glory and its endless supply of double vowels! Today is Finnish Language Day, and also commemorates Mikael Agricola, who is credited with creating the first written Finnish literature.

Agricola was born in approximately 1510 and died in 1557. He came from a parish called Pernå in Swedish and Pernaja in Finnish. He grew up to be a learned man – a linguist and theologian, and much later a bishop.

He lived in Wittenberg, Germany from 1536 to 1539, studying under Martin Luther and others. Agricola’s time there eventually contributed far-reaching effects to religious and literary life in Finland.

Just as Luther had translated the bible into German, setting the stage for the future of formal German, Agricola translated the Old Testament into Finnish, together with Martin Teit and other fellow Finns who were studying in Wittenberg. Agricola made a Finnish version of the New Testament later, after moving back to the southwestern Finnish city of Turku, and also translated and wrote other texts related to religion. One of his publications, a primer called Abckiria (ABC Book), is considered the first piece of literature in Finnish.


I got the 50th cancer treatment in the hospital in the afternoon. Kind of festive day!

Strong gusts from north made weather to feel super cold.


+1,0°C, cloudy, snowfall, strong wind