Monica Kennedy, age 13, of Jackson, Miss., for her question:
IS LAPLAND A COUNTRY?
Lapland is an area of land that is at the extreme northern part of Europe. It lies above the Arctic Circle. Lapland does not form a separate country but is part of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
The region is called Lapland because it is the home of a small, sturdy people known as the Lapps. There are about 20,000 people in the Norwegian part of Lapland, about 10,000 in Sweden, 2,500 in Finland and about 1,500 in Russia.
Lapps are among the smallest peoples of Europe. The average height is only 5 feet. They are very strong and muscular. They look somewhat like Chinese or Japanese people because they have yellowish skin, straight black hair, broad and flat noses and high cheekbones.
Some Lapps now live outside Lapland. Many have married Swedes, Finns or Norwegians and have moved to the central parts of the various Scandinavian countries.
The Lapps in Lappland are mostly a nomadic people who follow reindeer herds. Many have now settled in fishing or farming villages. They dress in clothes made of wool and reindeer skins. Everyday garments are so colorful that they resemble holiday costumes.
Language of Lapland is related to that spoken in Finland. The people in various sections of the region speak sharply different dialects. Because there are few schools, many Lapps receive little or no formal education.
Lapland is a bleak, barren region with few trees and not too much vegetation. The reindeer feed of mosses and lichens.
Some of the world's richest iron deposits can be found in Lapland. Most of the mines are in the Swedish part of the region. Nickel depostis can be found in the Russian area.
Winter in Lapland lasts nine months. The other three months resemble spring in areas that have mild climates. During two months of the summer, the sky never darkens.
Today most of the Lapps belong to the Lutheran or Eastern Orthodox churches, but at one time they believed in a form of magic called shamanism. The shaman was a medicine man who would beat on drums and foretell the future.
Historians tell us that the Lapps probably moved to Lapland from Central Asia thousands of years ago. Finnish merchants started to trade with them in the 1300s.
Lapps living along the coast are more civilized than those living in the mountains. Sea Lapps work primarily as fisherman. They build their huts of wood and cover the roofs with sod.
Mountain Lapps, for the most part, live a wandering life. They move from one place to another with their herds of reindeer. They usually pitch tents where there is enough to feed the herds. They live chiefly on reindeer meat, milk and cheese.
River Lapps form a third group of people. They are the most progressive people in the region. They hunt, fish and do a little farming.