Tapio is a Finnish forest spirit or god in Finnish mythology. Hunters prayed to him before a hunt. His wife is the forest goddess, Mielikki (Ref). He is the father of Annikki, Tellervo, Nyyrikki (the god of hunting), and Tuulikki. Fitting the Green Man archetype, Tapio has a beard of lichen and eyebrows of moss.
Tapio is a major character in Kalevala, the Finnish national epic based on Finnish and Karelian folklore, the hero Lemminkäinen offers him and Mielikki prayers, gold and silver so he can catch the Hiisi elk.
Tapio, the personified forest, was sometimes depicted as being the size of a fir tree, fierce-looking, like a human being in the front, but like a gnarled old tree from behind. Often the forest deity was female, occasionally an especially beautiful woman, who enticed hunters or woodcutters staying in the woods overnight; but he, too, turned out to be a rotten old stump upon closer scrutiny. The various forest deities and spirits were generally capricious in nature and had to be constantly placated by those who were dependent on their favours. Thus hunters made offerings to the deity and made sure they did not break any taboos in the forest, such as making excessive noise or shooting unusual birds that might be the forest spirit in disguise.
I visited the Fortune Aquarium. It had transformed from a pun-themed aquarium to a trendy aquarium with a fortune-telling theme.
I have no interest in fortune-telling, so I don't remember the exact meaning behind it (I apologize), but there was a corner with lots of slimy fish, and it was nice.
The 2022 "Moomin" stamps will be issued by the Finnish Post Office starting today, Wednesday, September 7.
The theme is "The ABC's of the Moomins," and the reading-loving friends of the Moomin Valley will be having various adventures in the books on the bookshelf. Pikku Myy, Nuuskamuikkunen, Hattivatti, Mymmeli, and Tuutikki will also appear on the stamps.