Daniela Owusu | |
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Born | circa 2004 Kirkkonummi, Uusimaa, Finland |
Known for | First black Saint Lucy in Finland |
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Last updated: 21 December 2024 |
Daniela Owusu (born c. 2004) is a Finnish woman who portrayed Saint Lucy in Finland's national Saint Lucy's Day celebrations in 2024. She was elected by the public and coronated in a ceremony at Helsinki Cathedral. Owusu, who is of Finnish and Ghanaian descent, was the country's first black woman elected to be Saint Lucy. Her selection as Saint Lucy led to widespread racist backlash.
Owusu is from Kirkkonummi. [1] Her mother is Finnish and her father is Ghanaian. [2]
In December 2024, Owusu was elected by the public to be Finland's Saint Lucy in the nation's annual Saint Lucy's Day celebrations. [2] [3] She was the first Black woman to serve as Saint Lucy in Finland's history. [4] Owusu said of her election, "It would be important to have a Lucia who represents multiculturalism and to show that Lucia can look many different ways." [5] Owusu was crowned as Saint Lucy in a Lutheran ceremony at the Helsinki Cathedral on 13 December 2024 that was broadcast on national television. [5] [6]
Owusu was subjected to racist abuse and hate comments on social media, including over 10,000 hate comments, [7] leading the organizers of the celebration, Folkhälsan, to report the online harassment to the police and consider taking legal action. [8] [1] Members of her family were also targeted. [9] The director of Folkhälsan, Viveca Hagmark, and the CEO, Anna Hellerstedt, both released statements condemning racism and thanking those who voiced support for Owusu. [4] Finland's prime minister, Petteri Orpo, issued a formal apology to Owusu on behalf of the nation. [4] Orpo met Owusu when she and the Saint Lucy Choir performed at the Finnish Parliament. [4]
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
Kirkkonummi is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern coast of the country. Kirkkonummi is situated in the western part of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kirkkonummi is approximately 42,000. It is the 28th most populous municipality in Finland. Kirkkonummi is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants.
Saint Lucy's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on 13 December. The observance commemorates Lucia of Syracuse, an early-fourth-century virgin martyr under the Diocletianic Persecution. According to legend, she brought food and aid to Christians hiding in the Roman catacombs, wearing a candle-lit wreath on her head to light her way, leaving both hands free to carry as much food as possible. Because her name means "light" and her feast day had at one time coincided with the shortest day of the year prior to calendar reforms, it is now widely celebrated as a festival of light. Falling within the Advent season, Saint Lucy's Day is viewed as a precursor of Christmastide, pointing to the arrival of the Light of Christ in the calendar on 25 December, Christmas Day.
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Racism has been a recurring part of the history of Europe.
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Owusu is a both surname and given name in the Akan language. The name is originally from the Akan people of Ghana. Owusu is one of the most common Akan surnames or given names in Ghana. However, it is a real name; thus, there are both male and female versions. which means "Strong-Willed and Determined" in Akan. It is the second most common surname in Ghana, with one in 80 people having this name. Notable people with the name include:
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Soldiers of Odin is an anti-immigrant group which was founded in Kemi, Finland, in October 2015. The group was established in response to the thousands of migrants who were arriving in Finland amidst the European migrant crisis. They call themselves a "patriotic organisation that fights for a Finland" that wants to scare away "Islamist intruders" they say cause insecurity and increase crime.
Elina Maria Valtonen is a Finnish politician who has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo since 2023. A member of the National Coalition Party (NCP), she has represented the constituency of Uusimaa in the Parliament of Finland since 2014. In the 2021 municipal election she collected the second-highest number of votes in Helsinki and was elected a member of its city council.
Sanna Mirella Marin is a Finnish former politician who served as prime minister of Finland from 2019 to 2023 and as the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland (SDP) from 2020 to 2023. She was a Member of Parliament from 2015 to 2023. She was re-elected as member of parliament in April 2023 but resigned to become a strategic adviser on political leaders' reform programmes in the Tony Blair Institute in September 2023.
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