The Maiden of Finland (Finnish: Suomi-neito) is the national personification of Finland, much as Marianne in France, Britannia in the United Kingdom, Deutscher Michel in Germany and Uncle Sam for the United States. She is a young woman in her mid-twenties with often braided blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a blue and white national costume or a white dress. She was originally called Aura after the Aura River in Turku. As a symbol, the Finnish Maiden has been used since the 18th Century when she was pictured as a woman wearing a turreted crown, and then developing as Finland gained a national consciousness and independence. Poetically, the maiden Aura has been linked to her foster mother, Mother Svea, the personification of Sweden. A picture of the Finnish Maidan from 1906 &copy National Board of Antiquities (Finland) This work is copyrighted. ... Britannia arm-in-arm with Uncle Sam symbolizes the British-American alliance in World War I. Germania representing Germany, from 1848. ... Marianne busts with features of Brigitte Bardot - Catherine Deneuve - Mireille Mathieu Marianne, a national emblem of France, is a personification of Liberty and Reason. ... Britannia, the British national personification. ... Deutscher Michel is a personification of the German nation, much as Uncle Sam is for Americans and Marianne for the French. ... J. M. Flaggs Uncle Sam recruited soldiers for World War I. Uncle Sam is a national personification of the United States dating from the War of 1812. ... Faroese folk dance club with some members in national costumes National costume (also known as national dress, regional costume or folk dress) expresses an identity through costume which usually relates to a geographic area, but can also indicate social, marital and/or religious status. ... The Aura river (Finnish Aurajoki) is a river in south-western Finland. ... Province Western Finland Region Finland Proper Sub-region Turku City manager Mikko Pukkinen Official languages Finnish, Swedish Area  - total  - land ranked 311th 245. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Mother Svea. ...

The Maiden of Finland can also refer to the shape of Finland on the map. With a little imagination it looks like a female form which has one hand raised (and another before the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940), a head, and a skirt. The metaphor is so commonly used that the northwestern area around Enontekiö is known as the Arm (Käsivarsi) even in official contexts. Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union The Moscow Peace Treaty was signed by Finland and the Soviet Union on March 12, 1940. ... Enontekiö (Eanodat in Northern Sami, Enontekis in Swedish) is a municipality of Finland. ...

See also

• National personification

Britannia arm-in-arm with Uncle Sam symbolizes the British-American alliance in World War I. Germania representing Germany, from 1848. ...

External links

• An account of the Finnish Maiden by Irmeli Tanttu Porkka for Virtual Finland website