It's Moomin Day!

While Americans have spent the last 80 years enjoying the make believe worlds and characters created by Dr. Seuss; the iconic Peanuts gang created by Charles Schultz and of course all of the Warner Brothers Saturday morning cartoon characters including Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and Daffy Duck - the rest of the world was spending its time in Moomin Valley!

Who is Tove Jansson?

Like Theodor Seuss Geisel and Charles Schultz, Tove Jansson was also born in the early 1900s. Born in Helsinki, Finland, she studied art in Stockholm, Helsinki and Paris, eventually developing her first Moomin-like characters during World War II and continuing the Moomin adventures until 1977. Tove is as equally celebrated for her short stories and novels as she is for her artwork. She drew on her early family experiences which fueled her passion for artwork, writing and of course, the creation of the whimsical and quirky characters of Moomin Valley. Tove’s family was separated several times during her youth by the Finnish Civil War, the Winter War and World War II. It was the strong bonds of family love, trust and support which formed the basis for some of her characters including Moominmamma, Moominpappa and Moomintroll. Tove also loved to travel and you will see that many of the Moomin Valley characters find themselves on endless harrowing adventures of discovery. Photo: © Moomin Characters™

The timeless and universal stories of the Moomins are deeply rooted in the Jansson’s core family values of love, tolerance and adventure. Some of the other lessons the Moomins teach us are seen in Moominmamma’s and Moominpappa's house. The front door is always open for anyone seeking shelter. They built an additional floor just to house guests and their home is open to everyone, regardless of species, what they look like or where they’re from….everyone deserves to be treated with respect. This message was always central to Tove’s life and should be true for the rest of us humans too! Visit Moomin Tove Jansson's official site here to learn more about her.

Although Tove and her creative genius left us in 2001, the Moomin Characters remain the most popular cartoon characters across Europe and have even found their way across the ocean to become hugely popular in Japan! Tove’s creations have taken on a life of their own, inspiring a Moomin Museum, a ballet story, a Moomin World theme park, Moomin movies and television shows.

The 9th of August is Tove’s birthday and is celebrated every year as Moomin day. This year would have been her 107th Birthday!

The question is…How will you spend Moomin Day?! Perhaps a good way to start, if you are new to Moomin Valley is to figure out which Moomin Character are you?! There are 18 main Moomin characters - from the calm and collected Moominmamma who never gets flustered and always knows just what to do; to her adventurous and curious son Moomintroll who loves to see new and exciting things, collecting rocks and shells and traveling over the sea…and then of course there is my favorite character “Stinky” who is always playing practical jokes on people, eavesdropping, vandalizing and stealing things lol! He is a mischievous little creature who is proud of his ability to outwit the police and basically just cause trouble! A list of of the main Moomin Valley characters can be found here.

Once you have chosen your favorite character, perhaps it is time to join them in their adventures through one of their many story books, comic strips or by collecting Moomin mugs, bowls, plates and 3D figures found here!

Moomin Valley can open up a whole new world of fun and exciting discovery for you and your children and you can begin your first Moomin journey at NØRDIK!!

There is a Story Behind Every Design at NØRDIK! What's yours?!