The article examines the reception of history by 7-10-year-old children in Finland and the role of historical culture in the formation of children's conceptions of the past. It scrutinizes how history is used to build individual and collective identities and bring significance to the past in children's everyday lives. Interviews with 174 pupils in a primary school in Helsinki constitute the basis of the research. The study reveals that children's perceptions of the past are compounded above all by active reminiscence by their parents and grandparents, who in particular are retelling stories of the wars between Finland and the Soviet Union (1939-1944). Through these stories the older generations are trying to connect their families to the national Great Tradition. The study also claims that women are more active mediators of the past than men. (Contains 5 notes and 2 tables.)