Finland’s beloved Moomins are celebrating their 80th literary birthday this year, marking eight decades since their distinctive, hippopotamus-like figures first charmed global readers.
Author and illustrator Tove Jansson, a Swedish-speaking Finn who died in 2001, introduced the family in her 1945 debut, The Moomins and the Great Flood, featuring Moomintroll and Moominmamma’s search for the missing Moominpappa.
Jansson penned eight further books, numerous picture books, and a comic strip in Swedish.
Set in the whimsical Moominvalley, the series has been translated into more than 60 languages, sparking a global phenomenon.
This includes film and television adaptations, children’s plays, art gallery exhibitions, and an eponymous museum in Tampere. The Moomin legacy extends to theme parks in Finland and Japan, with national carrier Finnair even featuring them on its aircraft.
Recently, fans converged on Tampere, southern Finland – home to the Moomin Museum – to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the 1945 publication and celebrate Jansson’s birthday, born on 9 August 1914.
For Rosa Senn of the United Kingdom, the festivities reminded her of her childhood. Her Norwegian mother, a fan since her own youth, read all of the tales to Senn and her sister growing up.
“Moomins have been such a special thing in my life, my whole life,” Senn said. “I just carried that love for Moomin, for Tove Jansson, with me into my adult life.”
When Senn met her now-wife, Lizzie, they were initially in a long-distance relationship for the first year and a half. Senn introduced Lizzie to the books and the couple used a plush doll of Moomintroll to feel closer to each other while they were apart. The doll was the ringbearer at their wedding, and they traveled to Tampere on their honeymoon.
The Senns also made an Instagram page documenting the trio’s adventures, which now has nearly 11,000 followers. The social media account has connected them with Moomin fans all over the world, including Stefanie and Michael Geutebrück from Germany.
Stefanie Geutebrück said she remembers falling in love with the Moomins while watching their animations during her childhood in East Germany. She also brought the Moomins into her husband’s life, to the point where they also traveled to Tampere for Saturday’s entertainment.
“Now he’s a total fan and our apartment looks like a Moomin shop,” she said.
Beyond the Geutebrücks’ home, Moomin merchandise is hugely popular. There’s a massive market for Moomintroll, Moominmamma and Moominpappa souvenirs across the globe, and secondary characters like their friends Stinky, Sniff, Snufkin, Snork Maiden and Hattifatteners are also well-loved.
“The Moomin mug is one of the best-known collector items worldwide,” Selma Green, director of the Moomin Museum, said.
