The people here are very religious but do not look down upon our faith. When our priests in the border villages have their Bible readings and other meetings, it is not unusual for peasants from the nearby Russian villages to come to listen to them. I heard many of the peasants saying that they liked the way our priests explained the Word of God more than the way theirs do. Four times a year there are joint celebrations which last a week or two at a time. A certain kind of hospitality has become the custom in these festivities and the duties of host go from hose to house among those inclined to offer such hospitality. During these celebrations, people gather from certain houses and villages - as many people as possible - at the person's house whose turn and obligation it is to feed guests as long as the festivities last.

Farming seems to be more neglected there than among us Finns. The fields are usually small and inadequate, nor are the pastures very good. As a result, most farms, maybe all, have few animals - a couple of cows and a horse. Milk is not as important in their economy and as a food as it is for us. As a matter of fact, there are three days in a week when they don't eat foods made from milk - Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. These are days on which people fast. I can remember a case which shows how dreadful this fasting can be. A Russian Orthodox peasant from Akonlahti accompanied me on a return journey to the first village on the Finnish side of the border. We came to Lehtovaara and the woman of the house set the table for us. But it was Friday and my companion felt he could not have milk or butter, which was all we were served besides bread. I tried to convince him that on our side of the border it wasn't a sin, but he replied, and most sensibly: "It's not a sin for you but it's a sin for us wherever we break our rules." These "Finns" are far behind us in the skill of making good butter. I didn't see any that was even passable. Since there are plenty of lakes everywhere, the fishing is good. Fish is in fact a food which is not regarded as fouling the stomach even on a day of fasting. In general, these Finns seem to be wealthier than our people living along the border. I think this is because there are virtually no vagrants, who are a veritable scourge in many parts of our country. Another reason they're so wealthy here is that they use their rye in the form of bread, which is good for the stomach, whereas we let the power of the rye go to our heads, leaving the stomach empty and the body to suffer accordingly. The greater energy and care those Finns show might be another reason for their superior wealth. When one goes over there from Finland, one quickly notices their greater energy in every respect. The common people in Finland generally show an excessive slowness and lethargy in whatever they say or do.