The next few days for me will be public holidays.

Tomorrow is the feast of the Epiphany, a holiday in Finland.

Then on Saturday I will be in Russia, when it will be a public holiday for Christmas.

On the subject of festivals, this year, 2017, is the centenary of the independence of Finland.

From the 12th century, Finland was part of Sweden. Then in 1809 it was given to Russia. At the time of the revolution in Russia in 1917, Finland finally became an independent country.

It seems that for all this time, the desire for independence was kept alive in Finland by their language and a culture distinct from the countries which ruled them.

Good on the Finns, but the same logic applies to many other people who want independence…

– Kurds in Turkey, Iraq and maybe other countries as well.

– Catalans in Spain 

– Basques in France and Spain 

– Quebecois in Canada

– Mohinga in Myanmar 

And on and on it goes, even including Australian aborigines who want to be recognised as separate from the rest of Australia.

When will this fragmentation ever end?

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