Figure 1.--This photograph was taken in the Finnish village of Vehkaoja durig 1948. It shows the village children attending the village day summer camp. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the group. |
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Summer camp has become a popular activity for Finnish children. This is largely a post-World War II development. Before the War, Finland was a largely agricultural rural country. We do see some camps before the War, but most of information we have found comes from the post-War era. After the War, Finland rapidly industrialized and there was a substantial increase in the urban population. As the core of the summer camp movement was to get city children out into the countryside there they could experrience nature and get fresh air and sunshine. We note mixed gender camps from a fairly early point. We note both day camps and sleep-away camps. Many local communities set up day camps. Sleep away camps are operated by a variety of non-govermental groups. There are relatively few private camps. Most of the camps are operated by the Scouts, sport teams, and churches, especially the orthodox and evangelic-Lutheran churches. There are camps that accept most school-age children. Finnish educators saw urbanization as having many adverse affects on children. This was similar to attitudes at the turn-of-the 20th century that gave rise to the summer camp movement in America. An important part of the Finnish summer camp movement is confirmation camps. As in Germany, confirmation is an important step for Evangelical (Lutheran) children and generally occurs at about 13 years of age. Thus many churches organize confirmation camps for the children being confirmed, ages 13-16 years. Many see it as an effort to counter the increasing secularization of European society. One estimate suggests that about 90 percent of Swedish youth attend conformation camps. The practice has also been adopted by Orthodox churches as well. Along with standard summer camp fare, there is a religious program and the youth learn about their faith and memorize important passages such as the catechism, and the Lord's prayer. The concept has proven so successful that comparable camps have neen organized with out the religious element. A good example is the Prometheus Camp. The more focused camps like computer camps popular in America are not yet common in Finland.
Summer camp has become a popular activity for Finnish children. We are not sure when the first summer camp was opened. We do see some camps before World War II, but most of information we have found comes from the post-War era. As far as we can tell, the Finnish summer camp movement is largely a post-World War II development. Our information, however, is still very limited. Before the War, Finland was a largely agricultural rural country. After the War, Finland rapidly industrialized and there was a substantial increase in the urban population. As the core of the summer camp movement was to get city children out into the countryside there they could experrience nature and get fresh air and sunshine.
We note mixed gender camps from a fairly early point.
We note both day camps and sleep-away camps. Many local communities set up day camps.
Sleep away camps are operated by a variety of non-govermental groups. There are relatively few private camps. Most of the camps are operated by the Scouts, sport teams, and churches, especially the orthodox and evangelic-Lutheran churches.
There are Finnish summer camps that accept most school-age children. And some day camps work with pre-school children.
Finnish educators saw urbanization as having many adverse affects on children. This was similar to attitudes at the turn-of-the 20th century that gave rise to the summer camp movement in America.
An important part of the Finnish summer camp movement is confirmation camps. As in Germany, confirmation is an important step for Evangelical (Lutheran) children and generally occurs at about 13 years of age. Thus many churches organize confirmation camps for the children being confirmed, ages 13-16 years. Many see it as an effort to counter the increasing secularization of European society. One estimate suggests that about 90 percent of Swedish youth attend conformatioin camps. The practice has also been adopted by Orthodox churches as well. Along with standard summer camp fare, there is a religious program and the youth learn about their faith and memorize important passages such as the catechism, and the Lord's prayer.
The concept has proven so successful that comparable camps have neen organized with out the religious element. A good example is the Prometheus Camp. The more focused camps like computer camps popular in America are not yet common in Finland.
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