 It
is impossible to be cultured without education. In Southern Savo, only a
select few received a good education before the elementary school institution
was established in the 1860s. There was a trivial school, i.e., a type of
elementary school, which was available already in the 18th century, first in
Savonlinna, after which it moved to Kuopio, with stops in Mikkeli and
Rantasalmi first. The trivial school only had approx. 20 students a year
attending it. The situation was the same elsewhere in Finland, too, which was
noticeable in the fact that approximately only one in every ten Finns could
write in 1880.
Travelling school items at the Haukivuori Museum
 The
Haukivuori Museum has items from an elementary school and a travelling school
in its exhibition upstairs. The level of educational tools was rather modest
even at the turn of the 20th century.
 See
museums site
School items at the Virtasalmi Museum in Pieksämäki
 The
Virtasalmi Museum has a lot of elementary school items on display, which show
that the education provided there was more diverse than the education provided
in travelling schools: globes were used to try to teach pupils about the world
that we live in and instruments were used to develop their musical creativity.
The exhibition also has paintings on display that encouraged pupils to
internalise the values accepted by society in order for them to become good
citizens.
See
museums site
As education improved, it also became possible to manage the household better
on farms. At the end of the 19th century, more and more people were able to
read and write, which led to it becoming more common to read newspapers. This,
in turn, led to people knowing more about their own region and the world
outside of it.
Office of the Master of the House at the Karhulahti Museum in Joroinen
 This
room, that of a wealthy house owner, shows the lifestyle and changes in the
philosophy of life that occurred at the beginning of the 20th century. The
office supplies — a typewriter and calculator — show the desire to keep the
books balanced. The newspapers and magazines on the corner of the table show
that the residents of this house wanted to stay informed of what was going on
in the world and be part of the new trends. The stylish wallpaper and
furniture and the beautiful lock show an appreciation of beauty and artistic
values.
See
museums site
The life of people in Southern Savo has always included festive occasions. In
an agrarian society, festivities were planned around work. Many of the old
ways of celebrating are still part of modern life, while some of them have
vanished. Many of the ways we celebrate what we consider to be traditional are
instead rather new; for example, Christmas trees were brought indoors only at
the turn of the 20th century.
International customs started to reach Southern Savo in the 19th century due
to increased schooling, the impact of the upper strata of society and the
improvement in transportation and telecommunications. The city of St.
Petersburg and the connections to it also played a major role. New ideas and
customs spread through the example set by rectories, mansions and estates. The
traditional peasant culture of Finland has slowly transformed into a
post-modern global popular society and, as we know, that transformation is
still taking place.
Wedding dress at the Vanha-Rantala House Museum in Pertunmaa
 The
Vanha-Rantala House Museum has a beautiful white wedding dress on display that
was used by Maria Översti (later on: Paloniemi) in 1892. Traditionally,
wedding dresses were black and a white wedding dress at that point in time was
a rather new fashion trend in Finnish peasant weddings.The trend had been
worked its way down from the upper echelon, and it is not surprisingly in the
least that it was a wealthy house like Vanha-Rantala where the new fashion was
embraced early on.
See
museums site
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