Jean (pronounced the French way) was born 100 km north of the Finnish capital Helsinki. His grandfather had changed the family name from a Finnish name to the Latin-sounding “Sibelius”. His father died during a cholera epidemic when Jean was very young. His family spoke Swedish at home, but when he was eleven he went to a Finnish-speaking school. He learned to play the violin and wanted to be a soloist. He loved reading the "Kalevala" which was a long epic poem about the old Finnish legends. He also loved the Swedish-speaking poets who wrote poems about nature.