Eija Luukkonen, who works in the Swedish Church's Finnish-language activities in Norrköping, started the celebration of memma day a few years ago. According to SVT Nyheter (official), Eija Luukkonen described getting the idea during the pandemic when all activities halted, including within the Swedish-language activities, and they felt Easter must still be celebrated in some way. The exact year the celebration began remains unclear, as does how it has evolved since its inception during the pandemic.
This year, she has heard that one of the city's Finnish associations has also joined in and is arranging its own memma day, though it is unknown whether this is a separate event or coordinated with the church's celebration. Several of the congregation's older members with Finnish backgrounds came to the memma day celebration this year, but the typical attendance numbers in Norrköping are not confirmed. All people talked to report how they have eaten memma at Easter since childhood, with the exact recipe and cultural significance of memma in Finnish Easter traditions remaining unspecified.
I got the idea during the pandemic when everything stopped, nothing was arranged—not even within the Swedish-language activities—and then we thought that Easter must still be celebrated in some way.
According to SVT Nyheter (official), Ansa Korkalainen described always eating memma since childhood, with her mother making it. According to SVT Nyheter (official), Kirsti Mattila described eating memma for nearly 90 years.
I have always eaten memma, since I was a child. At our place, it was mom who made memma.
I have eaten memma since then. That was almost 90 years ago.