TaraDeS — 5 months ago(October 18, 2025 07:57 PM)

The Mumins turn 80 ​ We need more Mumins!
In the shadow of WWII, Tove Jansson wrote her first Mumin stories.
A journey to Finland to the hippo-like troll creatures.
Often found in groups: Mumins!
Their round, hippo-like outlines adorn colourful mugs, hang as pendants from backpacks and decorate licorice wrappers: The Mumins. They are small and cute – and ubiquitous in their home country of Finland. In Tove Jansson's books the Mumintroll, Muminpapa and Moominmama live in their blue house in Muminvalley.
As the stories progress, numerous characters (such as Little Mu and Snufflepuff) are added, whom they integrate into their adopted family and with whom they have adventures – always returning to their cozy home at the end. There they drink tea and eat pancakes.
Things are less cozy in the Mumin shops in Helsinki's city center. Tourists – many of them from Asia – crowd around to buy the colourful mugs, which have long since become as legendary as the characters themselves.
No question: The Mumins are Finland's most famous cultural asset. But on these rainy autumn days, they are even more present than usual. The colourful trolls celebrate their 80th anniversary this year. In 1945, the first Mumin book "
Småtrollen och den Stora Översvämningen"
(= The Mumins and the Great Flood) was published in Swedish — the native language of the Finnish-Swedish author Jansson, who died in 2001.
Her biography shaped the creation of the characters. She was born in Helsinki in 1914, shortly after the outbreak of WWI. As a young woman, Jansson experienced Finland's war years — from the Winter War to the end of WWII.
The androgynous Too-Ticky
During this time, she wrote the first Mumin book. The illustrations were more experimental and the plot even more brittle than in the later volumes. In a foreword, Jansson wrote:
"It was the war winter of 1939. It seemed completely pointless to create pictures. I suddenly felt the urge to write something that began with 'Once upon a time.'"
The creatures live quite pompously: Model of a Mumin house.
The book tells the story of Muminmama and Mumintroll searching for the lost Muminpapa after a flood, crossing a dark forest to do so. They eventually find him and build their house, which would also represent comfort and safety in the following books. In the following eight books, Jansson added central characters such as the androgynous Too-Ticky, inspired by her life partner Tuulikki Pietilä.
By the mid-1950s, the books and comics achieved cult status, later followed by international animated series and merchandise. The anniversary is now being celebrated with a broad marketing campaign with the motto:
"The door is always open."
In the stories, the door of the blue Muminhouse is always open – not only for the family members, but also for their friends and companions, who are warmly welcomed and given accommodation.
What can we learn today, fifty years later, from these whimsical characters and their creator — in a time when we are confronted with wars and catastrophes? Who are their passionate fans?
The first port of call for a better understanding of the Mumins is the Architecture and Design Museum in central Helsinki. The exhibition
"Escape To Muminvalley"
opened in early October. Finland's President Alexander Stubb was the first to visit the exhibition.
"We examined the Mumin stories through the lens of space, architecture, and design,"
explains curator Suvi Saloniemi in the peach-coloured seating area of ​​the exhibition.
"It quickly became clear that they contain many encounters and themes that still concern us today - from a sense of belonging to the global challenges of our time. The Mumins teach us empathy and tolerance, as well as that everyone has a right to a home."
The Mumins fear the End of the World
The exhibition takes a chronological tour through Jansson's life and spaces — from her first studio to the house on the island of Klovharu, where she spent her summers with Pietilä until shortly before her death. The Mumin House is at the center of the exhibition. The way the exhibition's creators place Jansson's drawings and stories in the present is particularly successful. Using the story
"Comet in Muminvalley"
they draw parallels to contemporary Finnish life.
In the story, the Mumins fear the end of the world and retreat to a cave with a bathtub and cake. A video installation by architect Tapio Snellman depicts Helsinki's underground world with indoor swimming pools, skate parks and escape rooms. An installation by artist Dana Olărescu explores the themes of escape and belonging. The curators connect this exhibit with Muminpapa, who writes in
"Muminpapa's Wild Youth"
about growing up as an orphan without a permanent home. Only later will he find one in the Mumin House he built.
Those who want to delve even deeper into the stories can travel further to Tampere, to the world's only Mumin Museum. Shortly after opening, the exhibition is quiet, almost reverent, except for children runn