Revonlahti

Just in case you are wondering about the image that is next to my profile information, it is a coat of arms. In Finland, towns and areas often have their own coat of arms, almost like an icon for that place. In modern times, we simply learn that ATL is Atlanta and LAX is Los Angeles, but Finnish luggage tags often contained a coat of arms. I have a leather one that belonged to my grandfather that is for the city/port of Oulu. It contains a fish, a salmon, I believe, and looks like the one on this page: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulu

My grandfather was living in the village of Revonlahti just before he decided to come to North America. Revonlahti means "fox bay" or "fox cove" and is located near Oulu. The coat of arms I display as my profile picture is the coat of arms for Revonlahti. On the bottom of the following page you can glimpse the Finnish Lutheran Church my grandfather attended. It is strange to think that he spent time there a hundred years ago. I never met him, but I don't think he was all that religious-it's just that everyone in those days went to church.

http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revonlahti

What is really rather cool about this coat of arms is that it has three stars and three trees, along with some waves to represent water. It is a representation of Earth and Sky. So, it represents me as well as my heritage.