COVER N. 230 - FINLAND

Postmark: Suomi - Finland  66º 33' 7'' North Napaphri - 96930 Artic Circle   

Posted on the 26th March; Received on the 4th April 2023

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Another blistering cold cover, this time from the deep north; from  across the Arctic Circle, as so informs the nice pictorial postmark, with a couple of reindeer crossing Finland's map where the arctic circle is superimposed, while on the circular section none other than its most famous inhabitant takes a peek over the date mark.

Thank you so much; Esko. 

When I was a lad Valentine's day was not a tradition that would in any way be celebrated or even acknowledged in my own country. not until the early 80's of last century. Them, all of a sudden, globalisation stepped in and marketing and commerce found a new expandable niche to extract the hard earned coins from the pocket of those afflicted by the love disease and nowadays it's just another  nonsensical and totally out of context "tradition" that is eagerly celebrated not only by the newer generations. more permeable to the global virus, but also by older people who should know better but who have been retro-infected all the same.... anyway, what sense does it make to celebrate Valentine's day or Halloween in the south of Europe? It's about as logical and expected as having the Brits celebrate the day of  Santo António or of Pedro or João, the other two saints that complete the Popular Saints triad celebrated throughout my country. Of course I'm talking about the popular and profane (i.e. commercial, mostly) dimension of the festivities, since the religious dimension of the equation is mostly off-limits for me, since not only am I an agnostic, as I also confess my ignorance regarding Christian theology and hagiology.

then there's that childish aura that...annoys me... pink and cuties..... hearts ... flowers...promises of eternal love....

Last year, 24 women died in my country, the victims of domestic violence. I wonder how many of those had been treated to a heart shaped box of chocolates and a bouquet of flowers, come February the 14th.....

anyway, as usual I digress, such is the power of stamps and images....and Esko is certainly not to be blamed for me ranting a bit more than usual...

To celebrate Valentine's day Posti Finland issued on 18JAN2023 a set of five self-adhesive stamps with no indication of face value, meant for domestic use, themed on "close friends".  Further to the squirrel and dog pairs on my cover, the set comprised three more stamps, featuring a cat couple, a deer and a rabitt and three swans, somehow illustrating in an hyperbolic way the diversity reigning over matters of the heart...