HANCOCK -- The Zion Lutheran Church is kicking off Heikinpäivä (hay-kin-pie-vah) with cooking lessons. Participants came out to learn three different Finnish recipes.
Before the lessons began, the Easter Witch made an appearance. The witch is a tradition in the Finnish culture. She casts good luck spells on people for a small fee.
The first recipe on the list was laskiaispulla (lah-ski-ice-pooh-la), a baked sweet bun.
"Today we're going to make some new foods that we've not introduced for Heikinpäivä before, and they're all things people probably haven't tried before in the area. They're not a real common sweet," said Heikinpäivä committee member, Debbie Kurtti.
Some of those uncommon sweets the participants made were runeberg tarts and mammi (ma'am-me).
Many of the participants say this is a great way to get in touch with their past and gain a better understanding about traditions from the past.
For anyone interested in taking up some Finnish cooking lessons, the church is offering another class next Monday at 2 and 6 p.m.
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