“Is that an almond?” she asks in a whisper, and I nod. “Why would you add that to your rice porridge?”
“It’s an old Swedish tradition that stayed in Finnish culture even after the Swedish rule. But these days, it’s believed to bring luck to the person who finds it. The old folklore even says that person finds love or gets married next.”
“Ooh, I like the sound of that,” she says, her eyes twinkling.
“It surely is a fun little detail. On my mom’s side of the family, the person who gets the almond also gives a short speech or comes up with a rhyme.” I look into her eyes curiously. “So, do you have anything to say?”
Vivian taps her lips with her pointer finger. “I’ll keep this extra short, but I’m thankful to be here, with you, learning about another culture. Thank you for being such a great host and taking me in when I had no other plans. I’m nervous, yet excited, to share the holidays with you and your family.”
“Thank you for saying yes to my invitation.”
“So far, I haven’t regretted a thing,” she admits, the warmth of her smile echoing in her voice.
“Good to know. And I hope you keep trusting me as we get to know each other better.”
We get seconds of rice porridge before Vivian asks, “I was wondering…I noticed the Declaration was in two languages, and now you mentioned the Swedish rule. How does all that work?”
”It would take me a long-ass time to explain it in detail. Still, our country’s two official languages are Finnish and Swedish. We were under Swedish rule for centuries before becoming a part of what is now Russia. Then we got our independence in December 1917.”
“Now I get why you speak three languages fluently.”
“Yeah, I’m considered a Swedish-speaking Finn, too, thanks to my dad’s side of the family,” I explain. ”We spent most of our childhood summers with his family, so we mostly speak Swedish between my dad and sisters.”
“How did you learn Finnish?”
“My mother and her family speak it, and I did all my schooling in Finnish once we moved back. I’m unsure why, as both of my sisters went to Swedish schools, but I never did,” I say before eating another spoonful of the rice porridge.
“Oh, okay. Are there many of you?”
“You mean Finnish people with Swedish as their first language?”
“Yeah.”
“Just over five percent of the population.”
There’s a flash of surprise on Vivian’s face. “I thought it would be more.”
“Well, it doesn’t make it less important. You might have noticed that the signs are both in Finnish and Swedish. That’s only one example of how Finland being a bilingual country shows in everyday life. It’s like Canada with English and French.”
“I had no idea and I still traveled here,” Vivian says, her eyes sparkling with a glimmer of laughter.
“Most foreigners don’t. Finland is a small country with only 5.5 million people, so people don’t pay much attention to us other than when we do something big like win the Olympic Gold or have a young female Prime Minister who looks like a rockstar on her days off,” I joke, referring to our current Prime Minister.
“What—only 5.5 million people?” Vivian wonders loudly. ”NYC almost has twice that many people!”
Her reaction makes me laugh. “I see you got my point.”
We continue eating and talking about the Finnish specialties until it’s time to get ready for the Christmas dinner at my parents’ place.
* * *
Two hours later, I know Linnea’s outside when she calls and hangs up before I can answer.
“Are you ready to meet my sometimes crazy family?” I ask Vivian.
She smoothens her dark green satin dress, which looks so fucking good on her, and hesitates for a second. “Sure?”
“Is that an answer or a question?”
