KEKRINURMES · KARELIA · FINLAND

Arkistohuone · The archive room

A century of
Kekri, on record.

Photographs from Finnish museum archives, from masked figures in 1927 to bonfires in 2009. Every image is a real record, shown with its photographer, its institution and its licence. Select any image to examine it closely.

Records
15
Institutions
3
Span
1927–2024

Closer to home

Kekri in Nurmes, 1987–1988.

Long after the masked village visits had faded, the name lived on in Nurmes as the farmers’ autumn feast. The Nurmes Museum keeps the local newspaper’s photographs of the producers’ Kekri celebrations at Mikonniemi; in 1987 the paper counted well over a thousand guests.

Source: Nurmeksen museo, photographs by the newspaper Ylä-Karjala, captions of 3/11/1987 and 1/11/1988.

Archival record · 1987Producers’ Kekri celebration organised by the Nurmes cooperative dairy at Mikonniemi, 1987. The local paper reported that well over a thousand producers came to hear speeches, relax and dance.
View the evidence
Title
Nurmeksen Osuusmeijerin järjestämä tuottajien kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.
Creator
Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala
Institution
Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum)
Date
1987
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Checked
15/10/2026
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Nurmeksen Osuusmeijerin järjestämä tuottajien kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.. Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala, Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum), 1987. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Archival record · 1988Kekri celebration of the North Karelian agricultural producers’ union at Mikonniemi, 1988. As tradition had it, the local paper wrote, the feast gathered a large crowd of producers.
View the evidence
Title
Maataloustuottajain P-K:n liiton kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.
Creator
Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala
Institution
Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum)
Date
1988
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Checked
15/10/2026
Open the original record in Finna

Maataloustuottajain P-K:n liiton kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.. Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala, Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum), 1988. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

The collection

15 / 15 records

  1. Archival record · 1927Pekka Ruotsalainen as the “köyriätär”, Kurolanlahti, Vatala, 1927. A man dressed as the female Kekri figure.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Pekka Ruotsalaisen esittämä "köyriätär", Kurolanlahti Vatala
    Creator
    Ahti Rytkönen
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma
    Date
    1927
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Pekka Ruotsalaisen esittämä "köyriätär", Kurolanlahti Vatala. Ahti Rytkönen, Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma, 1927. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  2. Archival record · 1927“The köyriätär went from house to house looking for fun.” The figure in Kurolanlahti, Vatala, 1927.
    View the evidence
    Title
    "Köyriätär kulki talosta taloon hupia ehtimässä"; olento tässä Kurolanlahden Vatalassa
    Creator
    Ahti Rytkönen
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma
    Date
    1927
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    "Köyriätär kulki talosta taloon hupia ehtimässä"; olento tässä Kurolanlahden Vatalassa. Ahti Rytkönen, Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma, 1927. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  3. Archival recordNiemelä croft, moved from Konginkangas to the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum: a kekriukko figure beside the stove.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Konginkankaalta siirretty Niemelän torppa Seurasaaren ulkomuseossa, kekriukko tuvan uunin kupeessa
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Konginkankaalta siirretty Niemelän torppa Seurasaaren ulkomuseossa, kekriukko tuvan uunin kupeessa. Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  4. Archival record · 1972Kekri celebration in Loimaa, 1972.
    View the evidence
    Title
    kekrijuhla Loimaalla
    Creator
    Pekka Kyytinen
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma
    Date
    1972
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    kekrijuhla Loimaalla. Pekka Kyytinen, Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma, 1972. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  5. Archival record · 1972Dancing at the Kurkijoki Society’s Kekri celebration in Loimaa, 1972.
    View the evidence
    Title
    tanssit Kurkijoki-Seuran kekrijuhlilla Loimaalla
    Creator
    Pekka Kyytinen
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma
    Date
    1972
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    tanssit Kurkijoki-Seuran kekrijuhlilla Loimaalla. Pekka Kyytinen, Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma, 1972. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  6. Archival record · 1972A dance performance at the Kurkijoki Society’s Kekri celebration in Loimaa, 1972.
    View the evidence
    Title
    tanssiesitys Kurkijoki-Seuran kekrijuhlilla Loimaalla
    Creator
    Pekka Kyytinen
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma
    Date
    1972
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    tanssiesitys Kurkijoki-Seuran kekrijuhlilla Loimaalla. Pekka Kyytinen, Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Kansatieteen kuvakokoelma, 1972. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  7. Archival record · 1987Producers’ Kekri celebration organised by the Nurmes cooperative dairy at Mikonniemi, 1987. The local paper reported that well over a thousand producers came to hear speeches, relax and dance.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Nurmeksen Osuusmeijerin järjestämä tuottajien kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.
    Creator
    Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala
    Institution
    Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum)
    Date
    1987
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
    Open the original record in Finna

    Nurmeksen Osuusmeijerin järjestämä tuottajien kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.. Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala, Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum), 1987. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  8. Archival record · 1988Kekri celebration of the North Karelian agricultural producers’ union at Mikonniemi, 1988. As tradition had it, the local paper wrote, the feast gathered a large crowd of producers.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Maataloustuottajain P-K:n liiton kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.
    Creator
    Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala
    Institution
    Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum)
    Date
    1988
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
    Open the original record in Finna

    Maataloustuottajain P-K:n liiton kekrijuhla Mikonniemellä.. Sanomalehti Ylä-Karjala, Nurmeksen museo (Nurmes Museum), 1988. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  9. Archival record · 2008Kekri celebration in Pispala, Tampere, 2008.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Pispalan Kekrijuhlat
    Creator
    Ilpo Mikkonen
    Institution
    Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
    Date
    2008
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Pispalan Kekrijuhlat. Ilpo Mikkonen, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2008. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  10. Archival record · 2008Kekri celebration in Pispala, Tampere, 2008.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Pispalan Kekrijuhlat
    Creator
    Ilpo Mikkonen
    Institution
    Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
    Date
    2008
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Pispalan Kekrijuhlat. Ilpo Mikkonen, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2008. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  11. Archival record · 2008Kekri celebration in Pispala, Tampere, 2008: the feast returns.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Pispalan Kekrijuhlat
    Creator
    Ilpo Mikkonen
    Institution
    Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
    Date
    2008
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Pispalan Kekrijuhlat. Ilpo Mikkonen, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2008. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  12. Archival record · 2009Kekri celebration of the Vuorenväki association, 2009.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Vuorenväki ry:n Kekrijuhla
    Creator
    Veikko Niskavaara
    Institution
    Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
    Date
    2009
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Vuorenväki ry:n Kekrijuhla. Veikko Niskavaara, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2009. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  13. Archival record · 2009Kekri celebration of the Vuorenväki association, 2009.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Vuorenväki ry:n Kekrijuhla
    Creator
    Veikko Niskavaara
    Institution
    Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
    Date
    2009
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Vuorenväki ry:n Kekrijuhla. Veikko Niskavaara, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2009. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  14. Archival record · 2017Finland 100 Kekri celebration at the Artjärvi service home, 2017.
    View the evidence
    Title
    Artjärven palvelutalon Suomi 100 -kekrijuhla
    Creator
    Soile Tirilä
    Institution
    Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Historian kuvakokoelma
    Date
    2017
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    Artjärven palvelutalon Suomi 100 -kekrijuhla. Soile Tirilä, Museovirasto (Finnish Heritage Agency), Historian kuvakokoelma, 2017. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

  15. Archival record · 2024A pumpkin lantern, 2024. Carving lanterns was not part of old Finnish Kekri; the pumpkin lantern reached Finland through North American Halloween.
    View the evidence
    Title
    kurpitsalyhty
    Creator
    Katri Myry
    Institution
    Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
    Date
    2024
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Checked
    15/10/2026
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    kurpitsalyhty. Katri Myry, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2024. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Archival record · 2024A pumpkin lantern, 2024. Carving lanterns was not part of old Finnish Kekri; the pumpkin lantern reached Finland through North American Halloween.
View the evidence
Title
kurpitsalyhty
Creator
Katri Myry
Institution
Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto
Date
2024
Licence
CC BY 4.0
Checked
15/10/2026
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kurpitsalyhty. Katri Myry, Tampereen historialliset museot (Tampere Historical Museums), Vapriikin kuva-arkisto, 2024. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Record or myth?

The lantern that came from elsewhere.

Turnips were eaten at Kekri, but Finland did not carve turnip lanterns the way Britain did. The pumpkin lantern grew up in North America and reached Finland with Halloween. The large burning straw goats seen at some events today are also a recent addition: the archives do not show them as an old custom.

Source: Juha Nirkko, archivist at the Finnish Literature Society, in Yle Uutiset, 31/10/2021. yle.fi/a/3-12165704

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Using these images

All images in the curated collection are published by their institutions under CC BY 4.0. They may be reused when the photographer, the collection and the institution are credited. Portraits may not be used for marketing or advertising without the consent of the people shown.

Records retrieved through the Finna API and checked 15/10/2026. Images are resized, otherwise unmodified.