Finns didn't welcome Christianity with open arms at first. Back in the day Finland was part of Sweden and the Swedish crown sent many holy men for crusades across Finland to convert ordinary folk to Christianity. There's a famous legend about peasant named Lalli who got angry and killed one of these swedish bishops. Lalli is often referred as a freedom fighter and a hero, not a murderous pagan, as you might think. In fact he is so popular in his home town that they have a statue of him.
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Finns didn't welcome Christianity with open arms at first. Back in the day Finland was part of Sweden and the Swedish crown sent many holy men for crusades across Finland to convert ordinary folk to Christianity. There's a famous legend about peasant named Lalli who got angry and killed one of these swedish bishops. Lalli is often referred as a freedom fighter and a hero, not a murderous pagan, as you might think. In fact he is so popular in his home town that they have a statue of him.