Flag Monday: Finland

White -  represents snow and also peace and honesty
Blue - represents lakes and sky and also vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance & justice

The National flag of Finland should never be flown above another national flag on the same staff as this would suggest superiority, or conversely, inferiority of one flag, or Nation, over another

Capital - Helsinki
Population - 5,421,827
Religion - 76.4% belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, 21.0% (No religious affiliation), 1.1% (Finnish Orthodox), 1.4% (Other)
Language(s) - Finnish, Swedish

Finland was one of the last region of Europe to be Christianised, in the 12th century.

Finland has only been an independent country since 1918. Before that it belonged to Russia or Sweden.

UH OH. WHAT IS GOING ON?

The Libyan Prime Minister was kidnapped on October 9th, 2013.

Food Friday

         A traditional dish in Ecuador is guinea pig or cuy in spanish. The guinea pig will commonly be deep fried, grilled, and almost always cooked whole. It is tradition to eat the whole thing. For wedding presents, one of the most coveted is a mating pair of guinea pigs. Although it may seem bizarre, guinea pig is actually more efficient to produce for consumption than beef is. Guinea pigs are environmentally healthy. The ecuadorians always eat beetle larvae and soup made from bull genitalia. 

Thrashin' Thursday

       Pasillo is an indigenous genre of music, and it is considered Ecuador's national genre. Because this genre is indigenous, you will see many different varieties of it in different villages because every rendition has its own taste and style. Pasillo is played with a guitar and rondin, an instrument that is related to a flute. The genre itself is very similar to waltz and the pasacalle is the dance music form of the genre. With that type of music, a yarabi is traditionally worn. The western coast of Ecuador is known for Amor Fino. Most of these genres, although mostly indigenous, do have European tangs to them. 

Whacky Wednesdays

The trash trucks in Ecuador play music just like ice cream trucks in the USA

You can pay a priest 30 dollars to bless your car

Ecuador was nation in 2008 to declare that nature has constitutional rights 

Traditional Tuesday

          Ecuadorian holidays, though similar to the ones in the United States, are celebrated very differently, though the concepts remain the same. Nine days before Christmas, Novenas start. Novenas are house tours where people can admire others' decorations. For the children, they send a wish list to Santa Claus via a shoe. The kids stuff their lists into an old shoe. 

        

          New Year's is also an interesting comparison. In Ecuador, it is common to make a dummy out of the old clothes of the past year and then burn it. It symbolizes the passing of the old year and the starting of the new. In order to receive the joy of New Years, many people think that the best way to do that is to dress up as a clown. 

         

              A holiday that is primarily Ecuadorian is the Battle of Pichincha day on May 24th. Pichinacha is a volcano where the battle occurred. The volcano is right next to the capital, Quito. The day marks an important battle between the Patriots of Ecuador and the Royalists. The Patriots were lead by Antonio Jose de Sucre and the Royalists were led by Melchor Aymerich. The Patriots won which allowed for the liberation of Quito. The providence that was liberated would become the Republic of Ecuador.