Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Old Kalevala appeared in February 1836 with twelve thousand seventy-eight verses divided into thirty-two poems. This first version merged disparate folk song variants from different regions and singers into a single continuous story.
Elias Lönnrot made eleven distinct field trips to rural Karelia and Ingria over fifteen years to collect oral poetry that was vanishing from memory. He met singers like Arhippa Perttunen who recited four thousand verses across two days without stopping during his fifth trip in 1834.
Every line of the Kalevala follows a strict rhythmic pattern called trochaic tetrameter which originated during the Proto-Finnic period. Lines alternate between normal tetrameters and broken tetrameters known as murrelmasäe while alliteration appears in weak or strong forms.
Banking institutions adopted brands like Sampo Bank and OP-Pohjola Group while construction firms chose names such as Lemminkäinen. Jewelry maker Kalevala Koru was founded in 1935 on the hundredth anniversary of the Old Kalevala and dairy brand Valio produces ice cream named Aino.
The publication of the Old Kalevala ignited a firestorm of national consciousness across Finland that intensified language strife leading to independence from Russia in 1917. Contemporary Finland celebrates Kalevala Day annually on February 28th marking the publication date of Elias Lönnrot's first version in 1835.