6" x 4" x 4"
Plaster, Sunshine & Smiles
FINLAND

This is Finland in a nutshell: what you see is the prize for the "best friend" contest held yearly in most Finnish-speaking schools since 1954. The best friend is selected by the winner's classmates. To receive one you need to have been: glad, vigorous, reliable, friendly, orderly, helpful, empathic, et-cetera, et-cetera - a good person, that is. And if you are too goody-goody, you are not likely to win this either, so add "balanced" into the mix of attributes you need to possess. Not all good feelings are attached to these heads though! Most people we spoke to were slightly cross for never having received a statuette and those we met who had received one told us of the horror of being singled out as the "goodest" of the bunch when being a shy first-grader. The heads are made of plaster and will break if dropped (by a jealous 'friend,' for example). Rumor is there is a handwritten note inside reading, "Why did you break me?" implying your eternal condemnation should any harm happen to these godly heads.