BOSTON – On January 14, 1940, the New York Times published an article under the headline “Sisu: A Word that Explains Finland.”
It was the middle of World War II. The Finns had defended themselves against invasion by the bigger and stronger Soviet Union in the Winter War. A peace treaty would be signed in a matter of months. And a correspondent in Ilomantsi, near the Russian border, wrote about the national quality that defined the hardy and often inscrutable nation. To understand Finland, you have to understand their favorite word: Sisu.
“Sisu signifies that special kind of strong will,” the Timessaid.