View source for Ukko

{{short description|God of the sky, weather, harvest and thunder in Finnish mythology}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Finnic
| image = Ekman,_Lemminkäinen_tulisella_järvellä_(sketch).jpg
| caption = Painting by [[Robert Wilhelm Ekman|Robert Ekman]] in 1867 called {{Lang|fi|Lemminkäinen tulisella järvellä}} where {{lang|fi|[[Lemminkäinen]]}} asks help from {{lang|fi|Ukko ylijumala|italic=unset}} with crossing the lake in fire on his route to the ''wedding at  {{lang|fi|Pohjola|italic=unset}}''.
| name = Ukko
| god_of = God of thunder and weather
| abode = Sky
| symbol = Rowan tree, great mullein
| weapon = Hammer, sword or axe
| consort = Assumed [[Maaemä]]<ref name="akka">{{cite book |last=Harva |first=Uno |date=1948 |title=Suomalaisten muinaisusko |page= 74–79, 87–92, 122–123, 131–133 |location=Helsinki |publisher=WSOY}}</ref>
| festivals = [[Vakkajuhlat]]
| equivalent1_type = Norse
| equivalent1 = [[Thor]]
| equivalent2_type = Baltic
| equivalent2 = [[Perkūnas]]
| equivalent3_type = Sámi
| equivalent3 = [[Horagalles]]<ref>[[Gabriel Turville-Petre|Turville-Petre, E. O. G.]] (1964). ''[https://ia600508.us.archive.org/34/items/TurvillePetreMythAndReligionOfTheNorth/Turville-Petre_Myth_and_Religion_of_the_North_text.pdf Myth and Religion of the North: The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia]''. [[Weidenfeld and Nicolson]] p. 98.</ref>
}}
'''{{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}''' ({{IPA|fi|ˈukːo|lang}}),<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the earth, sea, and sky |isbn=0-19-513677-2 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=7jS65aClvFEC&dq=UKKO&pg=PA214 214] |last1=Andrews |first1=Tamra |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> is a thunder and weather god in [[Finnish mythology]], whose vital role is fertilizing fields with his thunder and rain.<ref name=Haavio-1967>{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |year=1967 |title=Suomalainen mytologia |publisher=WSOY |location=Porvoo |pages=85, 160–163}}</ref>

{{ill|Unto Salo|fi}} believes that {{lang|fi|[[Ilmarinen|Ilmari]]|italic=unset}}, the Finnic sky god, is the origin of {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}}, but that as '''{{lang|fi|Ukko Ilmari|italic=unset}}''' experienced very significant, although far from total, influence from the [[Proto-Indo-European religion|Indo-European sky god]] especially in the form of [[Thor]].<ref name="salo1">{{cite book |last=Salo |first=Unto |year=1990 |title=Agricola's Ukko in the light of archeology. A chronological and interpretative study of ancient Finnish religion: Old Norse and Finnish religions and cultic place-names |location=Turku |isbn=951-649-695-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Salo |first=Unto |year=2006 |title=Ukko: The god of thunder of the ancient Finns and his Indo-European family |publisher=[[Institute for the Study of Man]] |isbn=978-0941694940}}</ref> [[Eemil Nestor Setälä]] also stated that Ukko can't be a very old name for a god and that the thunder god cult among Finns was of [[Germanic peoples|Germanic origin]].<ref name="aalto"/> According to [[Martti Haavio]], the name Ukko was sometimes used as a [[common noun]] or generalised epithet for multiple deities instead of denoting a specific god.<ref name=Haavio-1959>{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |year=1959 |title=Karjalan jumalat |publisher=WSOY |location=Porvoo}}</ref> In 1789, [[Christfried Ganander]] wrote that the forest god [[Tapio (spirit)|Tapio]] was sometimes honoured with the name {{lang|fi|Ukko}}.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1789 |title=SKVR XII2 6589. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-069259 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2024-07-23}}</ref>

Ukko is parallel to '''Uku''' in [[Estonian mythology]],<ref>{{cite magazine |first=J. |last=Sapas |date=October 1919 |title=Heathan religions of the ancient Estonians |magazine=The Esthonian Review |volume=1 |issue=4 |pages=145–146 (re:''Uku'') |place=London, UK |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-D9DAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA145 |access-date=2023-07-04 |via=Google Books}}</ref> but it is highly debated if such god was ever worshipped in [[Estonia]]. According to the ''[[Etymological Dictionary of the Finnish Language]]'', the word was loaned into Estonian from Finnish and the first to use it in the sense of a high god was [[Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald]] in the 1830s. [[Kaarle Krohn]] believed Kreutzwald had confused the Finnish {{lang|fi|Ukon vakka}} and [[Ingria]]n ''Ukko vak'', a sacrifice to Ukko, with the Estonian {{lang|et|Tõnni vak}}, a sacrifice to the household spirit. There has also been a mention of sacrificial stones in Estonia called Ukko's stones. According to [[Oskar Loorits]], Kreutzwald had copied "high god Uku" from Finnish Christfried Ganander, but the Ukko cult had many [[Scandinavia]]n features which had also spread to the coasts of [[Virumaa]], Estonia.<ref name="aalto">{{cite book |last=Aalto |first=Tiina |date=2019 |title=Ukon jäljet paikoissa ja paikannimissä – Tutkimus ukko-elementin sisältävistä nimistä |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=University of Helsinki |page=48, 50–51, 236–237 |isbn=978-951-51-5349-4 |access-date=}}</ref>

==Name==
{{lang|fi|Ukkonen}}, the Finnish word for [[thunder]], is the [[diminutive]] form of the name {{lang|fi|Ukko}}.{{efn|Compare to ''thunder'' ({{langx|ang|þunor}}) and {{langx|de|donner}} ({{langx|goh|donar}}) both derived from [[Proto-Germanic]] ''*þunraz'' and originally synonymic with appellations of the [[Thor|thunder god]].}}{{efn|In [[Finnish language|Finnish]], diminutive formations do not carry the same pejorative or belittling connotations they do in some other languages, for example [[Latin]].}} Ukko is Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', and 'old man'.<ref>{{cite book |title=Suomen sanojen alkuperä |year=2000 |publisher=SKS |location=Helsinki, FI |isbn=951-717-712-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Äijät ja ämmät, vaarit ja muorit. Isovanhempien nimitykset suomen murteissa |url=http://www.kielikello.fi/index.php?mid=2&pid=11&aid=1048 |url-status=dead |access-date=2015-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225183810/http://www.kielikello.fi/index.php?mid=2&pid=11&aid=1048 |archive-date=2015-12-25 }}</ref>

According to [[Matthias Castrén]], Ukko as the name of a god can't be very old, or at least not the oldest, because it does not exist in a wider Finno-Ugric area apart from Finland, Estonia and, in a slightly modified form, Lapland. The mainly western word '''{{lang|fi|Äijä|italic=unset}}''' ({{IPA|fi|ˈæi̯jæ|lang}}), which has the same meaning as the word {{lang|fi|ukko}}, could also be connected to a thunder god: In [[Uusimaa]], {{lang|fi|äijä jyrittää}} ({{lit.|old man is rumbling}}) has meant thunder. Salo and [[Uno Harva]] have also pointed out the Estonian terms {{lang|et|äiä hoog}} 'thunder rain' and {{lang|et|äikene}} 'thunder'. Thunder is also connected to a "grandfather" in [[Selkup languages|Selkup]], languages with a distant relation to Finnish, where thunder can be called {{lang|sel|iĺč́a totta}} ({{lit.|grandfather is cursing}}). Sometimes {{lang|sel|iĺč́a}} ({{lit.|grandfather}}) is replaced with {{lang|sel|Nom}} ({{lit.|god, sky}}): {{lang|sel|numi̬t č́ari̬}} ({{lit.|voice of Num/sound of the sky}}).<ref name="aalto"/> Similar meaning is found from some of the names of the [[Sámi people|Sámi]] thunder god: [[Horagalles|Aija, Aije, or Aijeke]].<ref name="cas">{{cite book |last=Castrén|first=M.A. |date=2016 |title=Luentoja suomalaisesta mytologiasta (suomentanut Joonas Ahola) |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |pages=113 |isbn=978-952-222-937-3 |access-date=}}</ref>

In  [[runic song]]s, Ukko is also given the [[epithet]] {{lang|fi|ylijumala}} ({{lit.|High God}}), which earlier writers have understood meaning Ukko's role as the supreme god and ruler of other gods. [[Julius Krohn]] emphasised that Ukko was not the leader of other gods, stating that this hierarchy had been created by [[Elias Lönnrot]]. According to Haavio, this epithet refers to Ukko's location: on high in the sky. Haavio also brought up the name '''{{lang|fi|Remu|italic=unset}}''' which appears in runic songs, suggesting it to be a loan from [[Slavic languages]] (compare to [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Old Slavonic]] ''grom'' 'thunder').<ref name=Haavio-1967/> The name '''{{lang|fi|Tuuri|italic=unset}}''' appeared in Western Finland for a thunder god, loaned from Thor.<ref name="Virrankoski 2009">{{cite book |last=Virrankoski |first=Pentti |year=2009 |title=Suomen historia |volume=1 |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |location=Helsinki |isbn=978-952-222-160-5 |page=54 }}</ref> Same might appear in a runic song from [[White Karelia]].<ref name="akka"/>

Other names for {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} include {{Lang|fi|Pitkänen}} ({{Lang|fi|pitkä}}, 'long'), {{Lang|fi|Isäinen}} ({{Lang|fi|isä}}, 'father'), {{Lang|fi|Isoinen}} ({{Lang|fi|iso}}, archaic form of the above, modern meaning 'great', 'big' or 'large'). These could be euphemisms, as [[Jacob Fellman]] wrote the Sámi didn't dare to utter the name of their thunder god when it was thundering, and the same could've been true for Finns. [[Forest Finns]] used the euphemisms {{lang|fi|ylkäinen}} and {{lang|fi|ylikäinen}}, meaning something or someone who is above. A similar meaning for the name of a thunder god exists among the Sámi as {{lang|sme|Pajonn}},<ref name="akka"/> which might also be loaned as {{lang|fi|Pajainen}} in [[Savo (historical province)|Savo]].<ref name=Haavio-1967/>

A runic song from [[South Ostrobothnia]] mentions '''Pitkämöönen''' striking fire.<ref name="akka"/> In the same context, another runic song from South Ostrobothnia mentions Väinämöinen in this part,<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1886 |title=SKVR XI 2345. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-062197 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-07-10}}</ref> and a runic song from [[Kainuu]] mentions Väinämöinen and Ilmarinen ({{lang|fi|Ilman rinta}}).<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1882 |title=SKVR XII1 4552. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-067205 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-07-10}}</ref>

==Origins==
In 1782, [[Christian Erici Lencqvist]] said {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} seemed to have been the chief god of Finland, which was later repeated by Lönnrot and Castrén. Julius Krohn opposed this view. [[Kaarle Krohn]] called Ukko a thunder god who had received features of a Christian protector of everything. Ukko's thunder and refreshing rain were vital for the growth of crops, but he was also asked to help in various kinds of situations, such as labour, weddings, healing the sick, setting cattle on the fields and slaughtering them, hunting, fishing, when in court, etcetera.<ref name=Haavio-1967/> At this point, Ukko had become a ruler of the sky with features of the [[Christian God]].<ref name="sal"/> While making the ''[[Kalevala]]'', Lönnrot wanted to emphasise the supposed "good" proto-monotheistic nature of Finnish paganism and began to systemically refer to Ukko as the supreme god.<ref name="sks"/>

Ukko likely developed from Baltic influence which reached Finland with the [[Corded Ware culture]]. Later, he was influenced by the Scandinavian thunder god, Thor.<ref name="sks">{{cite book|last1=Pulkkinen|first1=Risto|last2=Lindfors|first2=Stina|title=Suomalaisen kansanuskon sanakirja|date=2016|isbn=978-952-495-405-1|publisher=Gaudeamus |page=376}}</ref> Ukko shares many similarities with Thor as a club or sword wielding ruler of storms and lightning. According to [[Anna-Leena Siikala]], Ukko's importance grew due to the rise of [[slash-and-burn]] agriculture, which resulted in the [[Vakkajuhlat]] ritual beer festival which was held until the 19th century. This beer festival also had its Baltic equivalents.<ref name="sal">{{cite book |last=Siikala |first=Anna-Leena |date=2012 |title=Itämerensuomalaisten mytologia |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |pages=401–402, 476 |isbn=978-952-222-393-7 |access-date=}}</ref>

According to Salo, Ukko and Ilmarinen are from their roots the same Indo-European human formed thunder god. Examples of a personified thunder or thunder god can be found among both Finno-Ugrics and Indo-Europeans.<ref name="aalto"/> The one who strikes fire in the origin of fire runic song, and is therefore the lord of the thunderstorm, is typically called Ilmarinen or {{lang|fi|Ilman ukko}} 'old man of the sky' by forging with eagle ({{lang|fi|kokko}}) feathers. While Harva thought Ilmarinen is the primary figure of this position, it alone is not sufficient to categorize Ilmarinen as a true thunder god.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hakamies |first=Pekka |date=2012 |chapter=Ilmarinen and Popular Techno-Utopian Conceptions |title=Mythic Discourses: Studies in Uralic Traditions |url= |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |page=198 |isbn=978-952-222-763-8 |access-date=}}</ref> On the other hand, Frog wrote that that the sky god and thunder god likely used to be the same: Ilmari.<ref>{{cite book |last=Frog |first=Mr |date=2017 |page=114 |chapter=Myöhäisrautakauden uskonto ja mytologia Suomessa |title=Tursiannotko: Tutkimuksia hämäläiskylästä viikinkiajalta keskiajalle. Tampereen museoiden julkaisuja, Nro 148 |location=Tampere |publisher= Tampereen museot |isbn=978-951-609-878-7 }}</ref> Siikala thought {{lang|fi|Ilman ukko}} was thunder itself, and Ilmarinen would've taken over its role in the song in inland Finland to emphasise the differences between fire, water (Väinämöinen) and air (Ilmarinen). In Latvian mythology, the sky smith ({{lang|lv|Debess kalējs}}) or a parallel figure of the thunder god or sky god forges so that coals fall into the sea or the river [[Daugava]].<ref name="aalto"/> Though Ukko gained the role of a controller of rain and weather for the purposes of agriculture, Ilmarinen kept a role as a wind god.<ref name="sks"/>
[[File:Robert Wilhelm Ekman - Lemminkäinen and the Fiery Eagle - A I 457-307 - Finnish National Gallery.jpg|right|thumb|The fire spewing eagle {{lang|fi|kokko}} was thought to be the thunderbird, the cause of thunder, prior to the development of the idea of a human-form thunder deity. ''Lemminkäinen and the Fiery Eagle'', [[Robert Wilhelm Ekman]] (1867).]]
Prior to a human-form thunder deity, it seems that Finns believed thunder to be caused by the thunder eagle. Echoes of this can still be seen with Ilmarinen forging with eagle feathers.<ref name="sks"/> In a runic song from [[Kuusamo]], a spark of fire is born when an eagle's claws hit a rock.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=1898 |title=SKVR XII1 4637. |url=http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-067290 |website=skvr.fi |location= |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |access-date=2025-07-10}}</ref> This eagle or bird from [[Pohjola]] is also able to spit fire, further confirming the thunderbird imagery. Forest Finns believed the eagle to be Ukko's helper, who drove away Ukko and Väinämöinen's enemy, [[Louhi|Loho]]. Loho travelled in a raven-form, bringing wolves with her to devour cattle. To please Ukko, and to keep Loho away, Forest Finns kept a [[woodgrouse]]'s wing on an altar shelf ({{lang|fi|lykkylauta}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Siikala |first=Anna-Leena |date=1992 |title=Suomalainen šamanismi |location=Helsinki |publisher=Finnish Literature Society |isbn=978-951-858-169-0 |page=202}}</ref>

Although portrayed active in [[myth]], when appealed to {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} makes all his appearances in [[legend]] solely by [[natural phenomena]].<ref name="salo1"/>

==Finnish folklore==
[[Image:Båtformig skafthålsyxa, Nordisk familjebok.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Corded Ware culture]] boat-shaped battle axe from {{lang|sv|[[Närke]]}}, Sweden.]]
[[Image:Ukkosjumalan aseet.svg|thumb|285x285px|Pre-Christian pendants associated with [[God of Thunder|thunder gods]].
{{nobr|'''{{sc|A}}''' Finnish}} type,
{{nobr|'''{{sc|B}}''' Swedish}} type,
{{nobr|'''{{sc|C}}''' Wolf's}} cross.
]]
Oldest mentions of Ukko were by [[Mikael Agricola]] in 1551, who described the {{lang|fi|Ukon vakka}} festival. It is unclear what he meant by the lines {{lang|fi|Quin Rauni Ukon Naini härsky / jalosti Ukoi pohjasti pärsky / Se sis annoi Ilman ja Wdhen Tulon}}. Early interpreters understood this as a description of thunder god Ukko fighting with his wife, thunder goddess [[Rauni (deity)|Rauni]], which would've then resulted in thunder. Christfried Ganander connected this "Ukko's wife Rauni" to [[Maaemä]] ({{lit.|earth mother}}; also called Akka {{lit.|old woman}}).<ref name="akka"/> Haavio disagreed with this, stating that the text written by Agricola which has been used to justify this interpretation is a misunderstanding. He argued that Agricola's text mentioned two completely different gods, a fertility god {{lang|fi|Rauni-ukko}} and his unnamed wife ("wife of Rauni-ukko"), whose copulation would result in fertile fields. According to Haavio, the name Rauni would be a loan and have the same origin as the name [[Freyr]], and the copulation of Rauni-ukko and his wife would be inspired by the Scandinavian story of intercourse between Freyr and [[Freyja]].<ref name="rauni">{{cite book |last=Haavio |first=Martti |date= 1958-01-03 |title=Rauni (Virittäjä Vol 62 Nro 3 (1958)) |url=https://journal.fi/virittaja/article/view/33625/46684 |location= |publisher=Virittäjä |page=253–256 |isbn= |access-date=2025-03-18}}</ref> Salo agreed with Haavio on that Rauni was the epithet of Ukko himself, not his wife, but that it still meant the thunder god Ukko instead of a separate fertility god. He suggested the name Rauni could be a corruption of Latin and Greek made by Agricola to connect Ukko to {{lang|el|[[Zeus]] Keraunios}} (Greek {{lang|el|keráunios}} 'belonging to the
thunderbolt, struck by a thunderbolt, hurling thunderbolts, bearer of lightning'; Latin {{lang|la|cerauniae}} 'thunderbolts'), instead of a name used in folk tradition. In this case, Agricola's fertility-increasing description would refer to a sexual act between heavenly and terrestrial deities, like a spark while striking a thunderstone ({{lang|fi|ukonkivi}} 'Ukko's rock') which were vulva-shaped.<ref name="salo1"/>

Rainbow has been called {{lang|fi|ukonkaari}} 'Ukko's arch'.<ref name="akka"/> The [[rowan tree]] was sacred to Finns, and in Norse mythology, they were sacred to Thor as it was said that the rowan is Thor's saviour: He was able to get out of the [[Vimur River]] by grabbing onto a rowan. Swedes thought of the rainbow as a rowan tree, and this belief spread to Estonia as well.<ref name="rauni"/> Because the name {{lang|fi|Rauni}} sounds like [[Old Norse]] {{lang|non|reynir}} 'rowan', a connection made by Setälä, later writers have called rowan a tree sacred to Ukko. According to Kaarle Krohn, as Scandinavians thought the rowan was sacred to Thor, this belief could've spread to Finland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Krohn |first=Kaarle |title=Suomalaisten runojen uskonto |date=1914 |page=132–133 |location=Porvoo |publisher=WSOY, Finnish Literature Society }}</ref> In runic songs, the rowan tree appears as a sacred tree in wedding songs, the rowan's branches full of berries symbolizing a pregnant woman. Rowan berries were also used for different kinds of healing and protection spells. Evil spirits and demons were thought to be afraid of the rowan.<ref name="akka"/>

The "old man in the sky" was also believed to cause thunderstorms by driving his [[chariot]] through the skies. Other possible causes of thunder include the rolling of stones or grinding, and there is even a set of verses describing Ukko "threshing in a cabin of fire".<ref name="akka"/>

{{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} possessed a weapon, often called {{lang|fi|Ukon naula}} 'Ukko's nail' or {{lang|fi|Ukon vaaja}}, meaning a [[Thunderstone (folklore)|thunderstone]] ([[Neolithic]] stone tools such as battle axes). In spirit with the idea that thunder was originally the thunder eagle for Finns, thunderstones are also called {{lang|fi|Ukonkynsi}} 'Ukko's claw', claws made of stone. He also possessed a fiery arrow, {{lang|fi|Ukon nuoli}} 'Ukko's arrow', and a fiery bow. Runic songs mention him having a golden axe, a golden club, a hammer ([[Ukonvasara]]) and a sword. To be noted is that the word for hammer, {{lang|fi|vasara}}, originally meant a stone age battle axe. Uno Harva compared Ukko's vaaja to ''vajrapani'' held by the Hindu god [[Indra]]. Ukko's hammer made of metal is comparable to Thor's weapon [[Mjölnir]], and pendants similar to those of Mjölnir have been unearthed in Finland. Ukko fights against evil beings, be it demons or trolls.<ref name="akka"/> Similar beliefs have been recorded from Estonia, as during thunder, God is thought to strike evil spirits or [[Vanapagan]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Valk |first=Ülo |chapter=Thunder and Lightning in Estonian Folklore in the Light of Vernacular Theories |date=2012 |title=Mythic Discourses: Studies in Uralic Traditions |pages=44–45 |isbn=978-952-222-763-8 }}</ref>

The [[ladybird]] was also considered sacred to {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} and called {{Lang|fi|ukonlehmä}} 'Ukko's cow'.<ref name="Virrankoski 2009"/> The Finnish name of the [[great mullein]] (''Verbascum thapsus'') is {{Lang|fi|ukontulikukka}} ({{lit.|Ukko's fire flower}}), possibly named after Ukko.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Halkka |first1 = Antti |display-authors=etal |year = 1998 |orig-year = 1994 |title= Kotimaan luonto-opas |language = fi |edition = 5th |location = Porvoo, Helsinki, Juva |publisher = Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö |page = 139 |isbn = 951-0-19804-8}}</ref>

==Festivals dedicated to Ukko==
{{See also|Vakkajuhlat}}
Before the advent of [[Christianity]], the [[Midsummer]] festival in Finland, today known as {{lang|fi|[[Juhannus#Finland|Juhannus]]}} after [[John the Baptist]] ({{Langx|fi|Johannes Kastaja}}), was held in honor of {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} and called {{lang|fi|[[Ukon juhla]]}} (Festival of Ukko). This tradition carried to the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=Juhannus, mittumaari, vuotuisjuhlista vehrein|url=http://www.kotus.fi/index.phtml?s=2338|access-date=2012-07-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316235419/http://www.kotus.fi/index.phtml?s=2338|archive-date=2012-03-16}}</ref>

Also dedicated to {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} were the {{lang|fi|[[Vakkajuhlat]]}} ({{Lang|fi|Vakka}} festival) also known as {{Lang|fi|Ukon vakat}} (Ukko's {{Lang|fi|vakkas}}) or simply {{Lang|fi|vakat}} ({{Lang|fi|Vakka}}s). {{Lang|fi|Vakka}}s were commonly held in May coinciding with the spring [[sowing]]. During {{Lang|fi|Vakka}}s it was customary to consume or otherwise offer a container or some other vessel ({{Langx|fi|vakka}}) of an [[alcoholic beverage]] or food as sacrifice. It appears that often the festival was held in the community's [[sacred grove]] or {{Lang|fi|[[hiisi]]}} where an [[animal sacrifice]] was sometimes also performed as part of the same festival. This [[ceremony]] was believed to guarantee good weather for the coming year and thus a good [[harvest]].<ref name=Haavio-1967/>

It appears that the {{Lang|fi|vakka}} tradition was rather lively. The last uncontested reports of {{Lang|fi|Vakka}}s being held originate in the 19th century, although sporadic reports also surface in the 20th century.<ref name=Haavio-1967/> The festival is also mentioned by the Finnish reformer {{lang|fi|[[Mikael Agricola]]}} in his account of what from his point of view was Finnish [[idolatry]].<ref>{{cite report |first=Mikael |last=Agricola |author-link=Mikael Agricola |title=3.&nbsp;Alcupuhe Psaltarin päle, 1551. Otteita esipuheen runomuotoisesta loppuosasta |section=3. B. Selostus suomalaisten vanhoista epäjumalista |website=vvks.info |section-url=http://www.vvks.info/tekstit/1500_1_agricola/3b/index.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2012-07-18 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218074555/http://www.vvks.info/tekstit/1500_1_agricola/3b/index.html |archive-date=2013-02-18 }}</ref>

==Eponymy==
[[Image:Ukonkivi2.jpg|thumb|278x278px|{{lang|fi|[[Ukonkivi]]}} (Ukko's rock, {{langx|smn|Äijih}}) in [[Lake Inari]] in [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]]. {{lang|fi|Ukonkivi|italic=unset}} was a holy site to the [[Inari Sámi people|local Sámi]] and [[archeology|archeological]] finds, apparently [[sacrifice|offerings]], have been found there.]]
A number of [[toponyms]] in Finland and surrounding regions contain some form of the name Ukko.
{{Expand section|date=July 2012}}

===Finland===
*{{lang|fi|[[Koli, Finland|Ukko-Koli]]}}, {{lang|fi|[[Lieksa]]}}, [[Northern Karelia]]
*{{lang|fi|[[Ukonkivi]]}} ({{langx|smn|Äijih}}), [[Lake Inari]], [[Finnish Lapland]]
*{{lang|fi|[[Ukonvuori]]}}, {{lang|fi|[[Enonkoski]]}}, [[Southern Savonia]]
*{{lang|fi|[[Ukonvuori]]}}, {{lang|fi|[[Konnevesi]]}}, [[Central Finland]]

==Modern influence==
[[The Weather Channel]] list of winter storms for 2012 list {{lang|fi|Ukko|italic=unset}} as one of the alphabetic names they used.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why we name winter storms |date=2012-10-01 |df=dmy-all |website=[[The Weather Channel]] (weather.com) |url=http://www.weather.com/news/why-we-name-winter-storms-20121001 |access-date=2013-02-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210223956/http://www.weather.com/news/why-we-name-winter-storms-20121001 |archive-date=2013-02-10 }}</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==See also==
{{div col begin|colwidth=12em}}
* [[Animism]]
* [[Finnish paganism]]
* {{lang|fi|[[Jumala]]}}
* {{lang|fi|[[Perkele]]}}
* [[Sky deity]]
* {{lang|et|[[Tharapita|Taara]]}}
* [[2020 Ukko]] (asteroid)
{{div col end}}
* {{lang|fi|[[Suomenusko]]}} (Finnish Faith) or {{Lang|fi|Ukonusko}} (Faith of Ukko), the Finnish [[polytheistic reconstructionist]] movement

==References==
{{reflist|25em}}

{{Kalevala}}
{{Finnish mythology footer}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Estonian gods]]
[[Category:Finnish gods]]
[[Category:Baltic gods]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Agricultural gods]]
[[Category:Thunder gods]]
[[Category:Characters in the Kalevala]]