Koski wrote:Can anyone translate this for me?
onni tulkohon tupahan hyva vuosi vierahaksi
With accents, punctuation and all:
Onni tulkohon tupahan, hyvä vuosi vierahaksi.
It’s dialectal or old-fashioned Finnish, which might explain why online translators have trouble with it. In modern/standard Finnish:
Onni tulkoon tupaan, hyvä vuosi vieraaksi.
The meaning and symbolism is what Pursuivant said. “Let luck enter the house; a good year (to come) for a guest.”
See
here for more information. An excerpt from that page:
The Whole village came to the housewarming
The social customs of the village used to have many noteworthy events. Even in these events bread took center stage. When a main building was built, a housewarming attended by the villagers was held. It was a custom to bring a rye bread, salt and a log. In this way, the inhabitants of the new house were wished bread-luck and warmth; and often these words “Luck for the new house, a good year as your guest, birch log for burning, rye bread for eating...” The names of host and hostess were mentioned at the end of the “loru.” [playful rhyme/incantation]. If someone did not have rye bread to bring, they could just bring the log, but one should never go empty-handed.
Koski wrote:It's from a plaque at my grandmother's house:
My parents have a similar but a bit more modern thing at their summer cottage. The tiny bread and the equally tiny salt pouch have been enclosed behind a clear glass in a shallow wall-hanging case/frame. The glass has official-looking, white block-letter text painted on it in the style of fire alarm buttons:
HÄTÄTILAN SATTUESSA RIKO LASI, or “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, BREAK THE GLASS”. ;)
