Finnish Paganism

A polytheistic religion without a name, Finnish paganism was the indigenous religion of Finland until it was Christianized. Evolving from shamanism, it shared a number of features, including ancestor veneration, with neighboring religions. The Finns also put great stock in the power of words and thought that both animate and inanimate objects had souls. Finnish pagans were intertwined with nature and they thought the world was created from the egg of a diving duck.
The main god of the religion was Ukko, the sky and thunder god, and his feast day, held on April 4, was one of the most important dates in their calendar. He shared a few common traits with the Norse god Thor, namely a magic hammer, and thunderstorms were said to be caused when Ukko slept with his wife Akka. In a weird twist for such a manly god, Ukko’s sacred animal was said to be the ladybug, and it was known as “Ukko’s cow.”