Here are some hints how to go on about when meeting Finns:

Some Generalities to keep in mind when in Finland.

When are the Finnish Hollidays and what is good to know about them.

Things that might be good to know about Finnish cuisine and some food.

What is good for the Finnish soul, Sauna.

Some useful Links


You are welcome to read my Blog abut things happening right now in Finland. About all the funny, peculiar and strange things and customs I come across living here in this country and maybe even a philosophical moment of enlightenment I experience now and then.

You are welcome to read my Blog abut things happening right now in Finland. About all the funny, peculiar and strange things and customs I come across living here in this country and maybe even a philosophical moment of enlightenment I experience now and then.

The Finnish Calendar of Hollidays

 

As the seasons vary so much from each other here in Finland, there is a strong feeling of time passing with the changes of the seasons during the year.

People are always expecting the next season to arrive. They are awaiting the first signs of the snow melting in the spring, for the first migrant birds arriving. Or to be able to sit in the sun without your winter-coat on for the first time that year, children awaiting to be able to go swimming in the lakes or the sea in the summer, picking mushrooms or berries in the woods in the autumn. Or for the first snow to fall and having to change the winter-tyres to your car, the merry awaiting of the Christmas-season and change to the New Year.

Some of the dates mentioned here might vary a bit from year to year, so you might want to check out the accurate dates with the calendar of the current year.

 

Uuden vuoden päivä New Year’s Day, January 1st
Like any other Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday.

Loppiainen  Epiphany 13th Day of Xmas
This is the day when the Christmas traditionally ends and you should get rid if all the Christmas decorations and throw out the Xmas tree. Like any Sunday, shops are closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday.

J.L.Runebergin päivä J.L.Runebergs’s Day, February 5^th                     
This is the day to eat Runebergin-torttu, a special delicacy. This is an official flagging day.

Ystävän päivä Valentine’s Day, Feb 14th, Friend’s Day
”Friend’s Day” here in Finland, not as romantic as Valentine’s Day when you are to send your loved one a Valentine’s card or to “dine-and-wine”, here you send postcards to your friends. It is not customary to as often buy presents to your boyfriends, girlfriends, wives or husbands as elsewhere. 

Kalevalan päivä Kalevala’s Day 28^th February, The Finnish culture Day 
The Kalevala is the Finnish epic, the story of how the world first was created. The Finnish creation story differs from most of the other around the world and is said to be unique. The Kalevala was compiled out of traditional finnish sung and spoken poems by Elias Lönnrot in the 19^th century.
This is an official flagging day.

Laskiais sunnuntai Sunday of Lent, or Shrove Sunday, last sunday of February
Traditionally the day you go out for winter sports. Either just for a walk on the ice of a lake, cross-country or down-hill skiing or just sleighing downhill with your family and friends. Traditionally peas-soup is eaten as well as special Lent buns- laskiais-pulla

Laskiais tiistai Tuesday of Lent or Shrove tuesday
There is also the Tuesday of Lent, Laskiasi-tiistai, but the celebration has moved more to the Sunday nowadays.

Minna Canthin päivä, Minna Canth’s Day, The Day of equality              
Minna Canth was a social activist for womens rights, author and a journalist in the 19^th century. The first Finnish woman to become flagged on her own day, it having been an official flagging day for the first time in 2007.

Kesäaika alkaa  Summertime begins
Summertime savings time begins around 26th march each year. The clocks are moved forward with an hour, which means you have to get up an hour earlier all summer long.
Usually these days are quite confusing, nobody really seems to know what time it really is, or then they just blame it on changing the clocks every year.

Aprilli-päivä April Fools Day, April 1st
Traditionally the day to fool everybody. The earliest reliable knowledge of people making jokes and tricks with each other, on the 1st of April, originates from Germany, dating back to the beginning of the 1600's. Before that, it was common for people to make practical jokes on one another during the spring, but at the beginning of the 1600´s, the tradition was firmly established for that particular day. Nowadays April Fools' Day is known all over Western World. You make a joke, preferably a practical one it seems and say. The nonsense poem for April Fool's in Finland, goes like this; "Aprillia, aprillia, syö silliä ja juo kuravettä päälle!" - "April fool, April fool, eat some herring and drink muddy water on the top of it all!"” afterwards which means I got you. The newspapers and radio havbe since the 1960’s had  "false" news as a joke to fool people.

Mikael Agricolan päivä, Mikael Agricolas Day, 9 th of April                  
Suomen kielen päivä, The Day of the Finnish language.
Michael Agricola was the first developer of the Finnish written language. He adopted the Reformation of Martin Luther, and became a reformer of Finland. In 1543 Agricola finished off the first Finnish "ABC-book", after which in 1548 he translated the New Testament to Finnish.  This is an official flagging day.

Veteraanipäivä The national Veteran’s Day, 27^th of April                       
Finland celebrated National Veterans Day for the first time on the 27th of April 1987, as a part of the 70th anniversary of the Independence of Finland, 42 years after the Second World War.
This is an official flagging day in honour to the Finnish war veterans that still are alive.

The time for Easter vary a bit form year to year

Palmusunnuntai Palmsunday Sunday before easter
The passion week, the week before easter begins with Palmsunday
A fairly recent tradition Finland has got from east, "virpominen". According to the information I have come across this is a tradition from Carelia, (Karjala) and the eastern neighbouring country, Russia.
Children go from door to door dressed like Easter witches “Trulli” and go from door to door waving with decorated tree-branches wishing a good and healthy year saying a typical rhyme and giving the branches away, receiving sweets and candy in return, a bit like Halloween’s “trick-or-treat” except without the trick-part, so make sure you’re either not at home or are stocked up with sweets to bribe the kids ringing on your door. According to traditional beliefs using a magic verse would chase away demons and the rhyme varied from area to area. In the countryside children could say; " ...and if you don't promise me eggs, hawks shall take your chickens". In those days children got real eggs for Easter and they did not receive them until Easter Sunday.

Pitkäperjantai Good Friday
Good Friday is celebrated in remembrance of the Crucifixion of Christ. In the Lutheran church the sorrow is expressed by covering the altar in black and having a quiet service without organs and chiming bells. In Finland and in other Scandinavian countries, Good Friday is known as "Long Friday". It represents the Passion and sorrow of the day. In older times, Good Friday was one day to take severely. People did not pay visits to each other, dinner was served late in the afternoon and the, children stayed home all day long and it was common to give them a good birching. It was also considered a sin, if somebody was laughing so much that their teeth were showing.
Like a Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday.

Pääsiäislauantai Easter Saturday
Holy Saturday is the day, when the body of Christ lay in His tomb. The liturgy of Easter Vigil, is not held before nightfall.

Pääsiäispäivä Easter Day 1^st
The Finnish name for Easter, "Pääsiäinen", originates from " be released from Lent", (verb päästää means release). At Easter you decorate your home with Flowers such as daffodils, lilies, carnations and tulips belong on the Easter table. In Finland, it is common to bring home a few birch twigs a week or two before Easter, so that by Easter time, the birch twigs are budding. The willow twigs, full of willow catkins, are also used as Easter decorations. Not to forget thedecorated twigs and branches you were given on Palmsunday, and grass you have cultivated in jars or tins. In the Swedish speaking parts of the country special easter bonfires are lit.
And eat some special food, eggs in various ways and also lamb is traditionally served to celebrate the end of what used to be fasting for Easter in the earlier days. “Mämmi” a special Easter delicacy is also served. In many homes the painting of eggs is a tradition.
Easter is the highlight and the centre of ecclesiastical year, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Orthodox churches, which follow the Julian calendar, celebrate Easter at a different time compared to other Christian churches, with the exception of the Orthodox church of Finland, which celebrates Easter according to the Gregorian calendar.
Like an ordinary Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic line on any ordinary Sunday.

Pääsiäispäivä Easter Monday
Easter Monday is remembered from the revelation of Christ to Maria Magdalena and his disciples. The revelation convinced them, that Christ had risen from the dead and would have an eternal presence.

Vapun aatto Walpurgis night 
The Finnish name for May Day, "Vappu", originates from Catholic St. Walpurgis, who's commemoration day was celebrated on the 1st of May. This is the day when the arrival of spring is traditionally celebrated. And oddly enough people begin to dress a bit more "summery" and that not accordingly to the current weather. Vappu is also celebrated in school and kindergarten and in some workplaces. Vapun aatto is a day of carnival and celebration for many and fancy dresses and masks are sometimes worn and pom-poms whisked in the air. A playful atmosphere spreads among the normally quiet reserved Finns. May Day markets with balloons, serpentines, flowers, whistles, May Day whisks or pom-poms,  Lots of people get themselves a balloon for Vappu and homes are decorated with garlands and serpentines. You drink champagne, mead or "sima", eat the accustomed "Tippaleipä" (more info in the foods section), doughnuts, hot-dogs and potato-salad. If you are not at a party them Vappu is celebrated by having a pick-nick, especially the students begin early in the morning with their festivities to culminate in the students of the universities celebrating  their first year students with an outdoors dip in cold water and “capping” them at midnight with them with their traditional white hats. In some cities also an annual festive “capping” of a certain statue done with the students white hat takes place earlier in the evening. 50 % of all champagne sold in Finland is sold to celebrate Vappu.
According to an old Finnish tradition, if you had no one courting you by Vappu, you would be without one also on midsummer’s eve.

Vappu, Vapun päivä May Day, May 1^st                                                                                
Also called Labour Day. And as in many other countries, Labour Day marches are arranged by various political parties and since the 1920 the socialist and communists have had separate rallies. In 1932 it became compulsory to have the Finnish flag in front of every march. The marchers also commemorate their deceased comrades that fell in the citizen wars in the early 1900 that was fought between ”the reds” and “the whites”. Student caps might have been worn from 1st of May until the end of September, but nowadays students and past students wear it on the eve of May Day and on the actual day. Vapun päivä was in Finland declared a national holiday in 1907 and has been an official flagging day since the 1970’s.
Vapun päivä is like any ordinary Sunday, everything is closed and public transports traffic according to the normal timetable of a Sunday in most cities.

Shops open Sundays
Somewhere from May the shops are allowed opening hours on Sundays too. It is pursued through the summer and ends around end of august.

J.V. Snellmanin päivä J.V.Snellman’s Day, 12 of May
Suomalaisuuden päivä, The Day of Finnishness                                       
Johan Vilhelm Snellman (1806-1881) was a statesman, journalist and philosopher. He was one of the most well-known and contested influential persons of his time. He vehemently pushed forward social programs to make Finnish the spoken language of the educated classes, to create Finnish literature and to improve the school educational system and to make it Finnish. This is an official flagging day.

Äitienpäivä Mother’s Day 2nd Sunday in May                                         
At the end of the 1920's, Mothers Day was set to the second Sunday of May in Finland  and celebrating and remembering mother, giving her flowers or a self made present baking a cake or cooking a meal became a tradition. And since 1946 distinguished mothers in Finland  have been presented with "The Order Of The White Rose" by the president every year.
This is an official flagging day and even though the shops now are allowed to be open on Sundays Mother’s day is on of the exceptions.

Kaatuneitten muistopäivä Remebrance Day, 20th of May                                                
Remembering those who died in during the wars and it has been celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of May since 1940, when Mannerheim gave the order to hold a memorial ceremony for Finnish soldiers who had lost their lives during the 1st and the 2nd World War.
This is an official flagging day and raising the flag it is raised up to the top in the morning only to be lowered again to 1/3 of the flagpole’s height at 10 AM. Left there until 2 PM to raise it to the top and take it down with the normal routine in the evening at sunset or latest at 9 PM.

Helatorstai Ascension Day
The day when Christ ascended to heaven and is celebrated 40 days after Easter.
Like a Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday.

Helluntaipäivä Pentecost or Whit sunday
Whitsunday is celebrated 50 days after Easter. Christian churches celebrate Whitsun as the anniversary of the Disciples' being filled with the Holy Spirit. Christians recognize Whitsun as the birthday of the church. This being one of the exceptions to the Sunday open shops, everything is closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday.

Puolustusvoimain lippujuhla Flag Day of the Defense Forces, 4th of June
The Flag Day of Defence Forces is celebrated on the birthday of the C.G.E. Mannerheim, the Marshal of Finland, who was born on the 4th of June 1867 and it is also an official flagging day.

Juhannusaatto Midsummer’s Eve

Celebrated on the Saturday around 21-26th June        
The name "Juhannus", as the Midsummer is called in Finnish, originates from John the Baptist birthday is celebrated in Midsummer.The Midsummer celebrations themselves date back to pagan times. According to old tradition the Midsummer night tempted witches, fairies and elves to tease people and to show them their future. This is why Midsummer has been linked to magic and many beliefs. Even today it is popular among young girls to pick flowers on midsummer’s night and to place them under their pillows in to see their future husbands revealed in their dreams.
New, fresh potatoes and strawberries are a must for many Finns at this holiest of summer holidays in this country. Homes re decorated with branches of birch and sometimes the entire house is decorated with birch leaves and you have small birch trees standing outside your house. Traditional bonfires “kokko” are lit throughout the country to celebrate this quite pagan festival of the highlight of the midsummer sun and annual barn-dances take their place.
This is an official flagging day and also the day of the Finnish flag,  and the Flag is raised at 6 PM on Midsummer’s Eve and not lowered until at 9 PM the next day on Midsummer’s day evening.
One thing to keep in mind about Midsummer’s Eve is, that normally the public transports are shut down during the festivities. So all busses cease to traffic in the afternoon not to begin to run until about midday on Midsummer’s Day according to special timetables and that shops are only open half-day today.

Juhannuspäivä Midsummer’s Day                                                           
Like a Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports begin to traffic again in the afternoon around 3 PM and according to special timetables. This is the official flagging day that began yesterday and ends tonight.

The month of July
This is the month when almost the entire country shuts down due to the summer vacations which most people traditionally keep during the month of July. Many offices and businesses are slowed down to a minimum which might be quite frustrating as things take more time than usual to get done.

Eino Leinon päivä Eino Leino’s Day, 6^th of July                                      
The Day of summer and poetry
Eino Leino, originally Armas Einar Leopold Lönnbohm, was a great Finnish poet and novelist, inspired by Finnish nature and cultural inheritance. This is an official flagging day.

Kesäaika loppuu Summertime ends
Summertime savings time end around 29th October and the clocks are moved back by an hour, this meaning an extra hours' sleep in bed. Usually these days are quite confusing, nobody really seems to know what time it really is, or then they just blame it on changing the clocks every year.

Aleksis Kiven päivä Aleksis Kivi’s Day, 10th of October                       
The day of Finnish Literature. Aleksis Kivi, originally Alexis Stenvall, (1834-1872), was a Finnish national author and poet, creator of modern Finnish literature. His major novel, Seitsemän veljestä "The seven brothers" (1870), the classic of Finnish culture, has been translated into several languages. This is an official flagging day.

Pyhäin päivä  All Saints' Day
In Finland, All Saint's Day is celebrated at the turn of October-November. All Saint's Day traditionally has two meanings; to honour all saints and to remember those passed over, and is originally brought together from two successive celebrations.
 All Saint's Day is a devout and quiet celebration. People visit graves of relatives, leave flowers or traditional fir-garlands or wreaths on the grave itself and light a candle in the remembrance of the deceased. The anglo-saxon tradition of halloween is growing more and more popular and there are special halloween parties arranged for the children.

Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien päivä United Nations Day, 24 th of October
Since 1948, United Nation's day has been celebrated on the 24th of October. On October the 24th,1945, representatives of fifty nations signed the Charter of the United Nations and the organization was created. This is an official flagging day.

Ruotsalaisuuden päivä Swedish Day 6th Nov                                      

Swedish Day is in Finland celebrated on the same day as war hero king Gustav II Adolf is celebrated in Sweden. Swedish day was originally established by the Swedish Party of Finland and was first celebrated in the year 1908. This makes it older than the Finnish Independence Day 0f December 6th from the year 1917. Swedish Day is when the swedish-speaking part of the country celebrate their Finnish-swedish heritage and culture. Belonging to the linguistic minority, the day of Swedishness has a great meaning for the Swedish speaking Finns as it strengthens their sense of solidarity and brings the people together and many activities are held in the Swedish schools and kindergartens around the country.

This is an official flagging day.

Isän päivä Father’s Day                                                                            
Second sunday in november every year the fathers are celebrated and does not differ much from Mother's Day. This is an official flagging day.

Shops open Sundays
From beginning of november the shops are allowed opening hours on Sundays. It is pursued until Christmas when they close again not to be opened on sundays until in the spring again, to be open during the summer months.

1 adventti-sunnuntai 1st Sunday of Advent
The Advent starts from the first Advent Sunday and it is the beginning of an ecclesiastical year, preparing people to celebrate the Christmas. In Finland the first Advent is celebrated by lighting the first Advent candle.Around here begins the hectic festive season when all the companies keep their Christmas parties, "Pikkujoulut" little Xmas as they are called.

Itsenäisyyspäivä Independence Day 6th December                              
The movement for Finland's Independence started after the revolutions in Russia (1917), caused by the disturbances from the defeats of the First World War and it gave an opportunity for Finland to withdraw from Russia and claim its’ independence. The celebrations sometimes already begin on December 5th, in schools and at work but also to have one day siesta of rest before you go to work again. Traditionally you have a lit candle in the window on Independence Day. TV also shows the black-and-white old film “Tuntematon sotilas” the unknown soldier every year which has become more of a cult thing. On December 6th is the biggest and most celebrated reception in the Presidential-Palace where the most prominent citizens and also some ordinary people get invited to. The reception is televised both in Finnish and Swedish. And this is where you must be seen with the fanciest creation ever. The women compete in hairstyles and dresses to be the most photographed person of the ball. Like a Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday. This is THE official flagging day and you lower the flag at 8 PM even though the sun always sets earlier.

Jouluaatto Christmas Eve Dec 24th
This is the day when Christmas is celebrated here in Finland, as in most of Scandinavia.
At Christmas Eve people gather at home to celebrate Christmas, the birht of the Christ-child together with their families. Only to the some of the traditions as a decorated Christmas-tree, giving Xmas presents to each other. If you have small children then Santa Claus comes and visits you. Here in Finland he normally comes through the door  to deliver the presents in person. Special Christmas food is prepared like ham and pickled herring, time to eat well and enjoy. People also tradiotionally visit their family-graves to lit candles on Christmas Eve and special bus-routes are made to make it more convenient for people to get to the graveyards. If you are giving Xmas-presents remember to give them to your friends way before Christmas Eve! A Xmas sauna is one tradition and in apartment-buildings you have special Xmas sauna appointments.
But mind, after the Christmas candle-bus  the public transports cease to run during the festivities. So all busses cease to traffic at about 3 am in the afternoon not to begin to run until about midday on Christmas Day.

 

Joulupäivä Xmas Day  Dec 25th
Traditionally the Finns as Lutherans go to Christmas mass early in the morning of Christmas Day to the commemorate the birth of Jesus, although nowadays the religious meaning of Christmas, is often forgotten.

Like a Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic from midday on as an ordinary Sunday.

 Tapanin päivä Boxing Day Dec 26th

The day after Christmas, Boxing Day, is celebrated for the commemoration of the first Christian martyr St. Stephan, who was stoned to death shortly after Christ's crucifixion. Most of the Christmas Days you spend among your family but this  is a day you can begin to visit friends and relatives and do outdoors sports, such as skating, skiing and sledging. In the old days it was also tradition to go sleigh riding "Tapaninajelu" on Boxing Day. Like a Sunday, everything is closed. Public transports traffic as an ordinary Sunday.

Uudenvuoden aatto New Years Eve, Dec 31^st
Celebration of the old year to end and the new to begin.
The New Years Eve celebration is traditionally a boisterous and joyful event for adults and children, often spent with close friends and family, the highlight of the evening being the fireworks fired at the turn of the year and toasts in champagne are raised wishing each other Happy New Year. The Finns also traditionally do ”New Years’ magic” around midnight to tell the future of the coming year.
The fortune telling  is done by melting a bit of tin,  the tin most commonly sold in the shape of a horseshoe to bring you good luck, and pouring the melted metal into a bucket of water to see what shape the metal forms. Your New Years pewter is then held in the light of a lit candle to see what the shadow tells about your future.
Shops only open half-day.

 

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This is in no way a complete list, things will be added to the content as soon as I learn about them.