DEATH
There is not a single belief of on what happens after death, nor a concrete writing that we can rely on. However, national epics like Kalevala can give us some direction, as well as the many songs and oral stories that have survived through the years.
What we know, is that there is not a clearly defined death in Finnish religion that you would find in Christianity, Islam or other religions like them, which often base afterlife and death on the value of our deeds on earth, and the holiness of our life. In Finnish belief, life is not a test or a grand entrance to something greater that comes after death, but life rather is the peak of what we could consider existence. What happens after we lose our mortal form is not based on the quality of our lives.
When we die, we are transported to the edge of the word, the norhternmost plane of our existence, where we can see the river of Tuonela (Tuonelanjoki), and a mist beyond. Afterlife is not a reward, but rather one possible meager existence that exists as an echo of the real world. It is often described as a mirror dimension where everything feels like a twisted echo of what exists in reality at the same place, at the same time. You can travel wherever you like, but everything will always be a little "off". A lively forest will be gray and cold, for there is no life in Tuonela. Humans live as shadows, in dwellings not with the living, but with the dead. It is believed that anything we are buried with may be transported with us to Tuonela, but it is unclear what is allowed to enter with us.
Source: Joseph Alinen, Death and Illness, Finnish Mythology 1885-1920
At the entrance of the river, there is a figure waiting for you. This is often described as Tuonelan Tytti, a woman on a raft, or a being known as Lautturi who awaits for your arrival. Here, you have two options.
1. Join the being on the raft, and make your way through the river towards Tuonela. The river may be clear and calm, or stormy and unstable. It is unclear if your actions on earth have any effects on if the gods of Tuonela allow you to enter, or if it is based on luck, but you either make it across, or are cast away and thrown into the river.
2. You accept your existence is over, and enter the river based on your own free will. The river is the gap between the living world and the land of the dead, and you will become one with the river, your existence absorbed into the river. Your story is over, and you are broken up into pieces.
The part of afterlife that may cause the most discomfort, is that there is nothing one could consider a comforting, utopic option. Death is objectively a sad affair, and the existence we can continue beyond our life is not one of golden gates and good food, but rather you exist as a shadow to the mortal world. Your actions on earth are yours to carry, but I leave you with a consideration:
The ones who seek a life beyond our earthly experience are those with unfilled demands, wishes and experiences. Tuonela is not comfort, but it is an existence you are tricked into. Whether you do it to travel the world, find a long lost loved one, or to achieve all the dreams you had in life, it can never fix or fill what was lost. One might argue, that a truly content person, someone who felt their life had meaning and lived happy, would defy Tuonela, accept that the gift that is life is complete, and step into the river on their own terms to become one with the world.