It doesn’t happen very often, but this is the most striking one to date for me.
He calls Germany a “rough-up idiot” prior to making an alliance with him.
Do you remenber of some scenes where Italy is pissed out about something?
In the ask about countries with secret strength, Finland says there’s nothing to gain by capturing them. What does this mean? Did humans try to use them before, or have there been hints of it? (I’m sorry, I have yet to read the manga 😅)
[Pssst. Read it! Most of
the strips can be read online thanks to the amazing mods at Hetarchive.]
It’s more like the
nations have been taken as prisoners of war before, and their bosses don’t seem
to care all that much. They’re treated just like any other human soldier in
this case. I’ve already mentioned before that they don’t have all that much say
in their gov’ts, other than being able to cast a vote and hold meetings to discuss
world issues with other personifications.
Anyways, post coming up
tonight!
I really liked your post about Finland and his Santa Claus connotations. However, I have something to add. I used to live in the Netherlands, and we have two Santas. The first, Sinterklaas, lives in Spain with servants, Zwarte Pieten. They come on the second Saturday of November, and leave on December 6. December 25 is a lot quieter, but we still exchange gifts. That day, Santa Claus, or Kerstman, comes from Lapland in Finland. Other European cultures as well believe Santa lives in Finland.
While I did say that each nation celebrated their Christmas differently [with their own respective figures] before America’s version of Santa was globalized, this is still a really important point!
I think what Hima meant in this strip was Lapland specifically, not Finland in general. Either way, thank you for sharing~
Misconception: Finland has a sweet, child-like appearance, so he must be weak.
Reality:
Finland’s a warrior, and is noted to possess immense strength and resilience.
Ex: He’s so
cold-resistant that General Winter has no effect on him. They even get along.
Ex: He’s
visibly disappointed when Sweden calls off a battle during one of the Polish-Swedish
wars. Not to mention that he was excited about engaging in the fight.
Ex: His
patience isn’t endless. It’s said that if you poke him ten times, he’ll forgive
you, but once you pester him enough, he’ll get you back ten times harder.
[There’s a slight difference in the translation, but it’s basically the same thing.]
Misconception: Like Iceland, Finland’s one of the tamer Nordics.
Reality:
Finland’s actually quite strange.
Ex: He loves
nature and enjoys being covered in grass.
Misconception: He’s Sweden’s wife = Sufin is canon.
Reality: He
is not Sweden’s wife. Sufin is not canon.
Sweden calls Finland his
wife, but Finland does not accept the label.
The two do share a close
relationship though, enough for Finland to refer to Sweden as “Swe.”
Although, Finland is often
just as perplexed by Sweden as the other nations are.
Misconception: He’s a jittery, nervous, and shy person as a result of being overshadowed
by the other Nordics.
Reality: He’s
soft-spoken, and quiet-voiced, but is far from quiet. In fact, he can be a very
talkative and bubbly character at times. Nonetheless, he is said to be
overshadowed by the other Nordics.
Ex: Finland
jokes with Germany about his boss, despite the fact that the humour goes right over Germany’s head.
Ex: Finland’s
noted to be a particularly nagging person.
Bonus Facts:
He lightly teases Iceland and
once asked the latter to call him Big Brother.
He’s offered to act as a
father figure to America.
He loves saunas, sweets, and
alcohol. Bonus if it’s all combined together.
He’s had the hardest time out
of all the Nordics, likely stemming from the fact that he’s historically been
an underling to other nations.
Me: No more sweets.
My brain:
Hey! I can’t begin to describe how amazing all your posts are. I have a question about Finland’s association with Santa. I know it’s because Santa is said to reside in Finland but what’s Finland’s role? Is he Santa’s helper? Is it the result of being able to travel around the world and transcend the countries’ borders more easily just on account of being a nation? We often see Finland as Santa but we aren’t given much of an explanation as to why or how it works so I’d love to hear your thoughts.
All right, so there’s
a few things to unpack here.
My understanding of it
is that America’s artificial creation of Santa by Coca-Cola actually created a real-life
need for a Santa personification.
Since the legend formulated
in America made out Santa to live in the North Pole, that’s why Finland assumed
responsibility for ensuring the delivery of presents on Christmas. He’s noted
to “answer America’s expectations.”
It’s also important to
note that before capitalism globalized the American version of Santa, each
nation experienced their Christmas differently:
Further, Santa in the
strips is used more as a metonymy. There’s multiple Santas – The term Santa is
used to refer to the whole collective of Santas, which just so happens to
include Finland. So in a way, yes, I would consider him as Santa’s helper
despite being one himself.
“Well, Santas born in Finland are used to the cold. We can even walk around with short sleeves in the Canadian winter!”
Ex: Finland frets
during Christmas 09’ when he loses three Santas.
What’s even more odd
is that the economic recessions in the American economy (the sub-prime mortgage
crisis of 2008 in this case) caused the Santas to undergo job cuts.
As for the travelling,
that’s a bit more open-ended.
Given that we see the Axis using a magic flying
sleigh without any problems, I would guess that their ability to fly across
borders is made to be even easier than their typical travelling abilities. I say this
only because Finland in the 2010 Christmas event isn’t able to transport to nations
far away from Europe (i.e Seychelles and Cuba).
I love him too. He’s a giant sweetheart, quirky, uniquely strange and mysterious, and not to mention a total badass.
Post on Finland coming up tonight!
They owe their
existence to them.
Ex: France lays out the rule that as long as the nation
possesses a stable government and a large enough citizenry to identify with
said national identity, the respective personification will remain and continue
to be immortal.
This rule is further confirmed in World Stars, where France
explicitly admits that he exists because of his citizens.
They openly interact with one another + humans know of their existence.
A common misconception that people often make is that the
nations’ identities are a secret kept from the public and that only their bosses
know about them. That simply isn’t true.
In fact, while some humans are shown to be perplexed by the
nations’ immortality, their overall existence is known to the public.
Ex: France introduces himself to Lisa, Jeanne d’Arc’s
reincarnate.
Ex: Italy flirts with his own citizens.
Interestingly, Italy’s also admitted to getting tired of
seeing the same faces of his citizens every day – a consequence of his
immortality. However, he does add to this and claims that seeing
these same faces can also be refreshing.
Point is, on top of their being no knowledge barrier of
their existence, the personifications openly interact with their citizens.
The Nations are Citizens Themselves.
Ex: Romano has his own passport.
Ex: Russia isn’t exempt from civilian duties, such as manual labor.
He’s forced to build a waterway alongside his people under
impoverished conditions.
He fought alongside his people in both world wars (as well
as any other personification), and endured the same notoriously terrible living
conditions that his soldiers were exposed to.
Ex: Coinciding with the last example, the nations serve in
their military. Here, America is tasked with tightening security among his
troops after Germany and Prussia successfully infiltrated them.
Population Demographics Affect the Nation’s Personality Traits, Behaviours, Habits, and Physiology:
Given that this is a series predicated on stereotypes, this
isn’t all that surprising.
Ex: China has a video game addiction resulting from this
becoming a rising problem among Chinese youth.
Ex: Germany strictly adheres to the directions of his GPS.
Hima drew this from a news story of a Bavarian who caused an accident by
following GPS directions.
Ex: Post WW1, several Lithuanians immigrated to America to
outsource their labor so that they could send money back home. As such,
Lithuania lived with America during this time.
The same thing happened with Romano. He went to live with America
during the first Industrial Revolution –a direct effect of his own people
migrating there for work.
Ex: As a result of his shifting cuisine (i.e. Indian and
Chinese influences), England is beginning to learn how to cook.
Ex: A nation’s obesity rate likewise impacts the weight of
the personification.
Friend 1: Guys, don’t go all FBI on me here, but I just got
a new boyfriend/girlfriend.
*You and Friend 2 look at each other like you’re in the
office*
Friend 1: I mean it! No stalking allowed!
You and Friend 2:
Have the nations ever feared their citizens?
This subject is rarely touched on in the manga, but it did
happen with France following his Revolution. He was forced to give up aristocratic
clothing, otherwise he risked being beat up by his citizens.
Ellawritesficssometimes 