FINNISH PUBLIC AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
New Year's Day Jan 1
Epiphany Jan 6
Good Friday April 10 (1998), April 2 (1999)
Easter April 12-13 (1998), April 4-5 (1999)
May Day Eve April 30
May Day May 1
Ascension Day May 21 (1998), May 13 (1999)
Whitsun May 31 (1998), May 23 (1999)
Midsummer June 19-20 (1998), June 25-26 (1999)
All Saints Day Oct 31 (1998), Nov 6 (1999)
Independence Day Dec 6
Christmas Eve & Day Dec 24-25
Boxing Day Dec 26
CELEBRATIONS IN FINLAND
Christmas has remained the main festivity in Finland. Finnish Christmas is all about families and homes. Christmas itself is preceded by “pikkujoulu” (Christmas parties) at work places, schools and clubs. Various cabaret style performances are prepared for these parties. Many lighthearted Christmas songs are a big part of these parties. Christmas Eve is the main day for festivities. Families bring their Christmas trees in the morning and decorate them with typical Christmas decorations. At about midday on Christmas Eve, “Christmas Peace” is declared by the president from Turku, the former capital of Finland. This ritual has a long tradition deriving back to the Medieval laws and it serves as the opening of Christmas season for the Finns. A Christmas sauna is a very important part of the day. After it gets dark, people bring lighted candles to the graves of their relatives. The cemeteries glow with the lights of countless candles, which represent hope and certainty. After this ritual, families gather together for the main Christmas meal, and usually while you're eating Santa Claus will come and drop off the presents outside your door. Many families attend the Christmas service on Christmas Day to hear the Christmas message.
| Midsummer has remained the second most important celebration in Finland. Midsummer, celebrated at the summer solstice, has been an important ritual since the Pagan times. Midsummer celebrates the fact that the sun remains above the horizon all night. During midsummer, cities usually empty out, since midsummer is mostly celebrated on the countryside. Most people go to their waterside summer cottages, or if they don't have one, |
|
| they rent one from somewhere. Lighting a huge bonfire is the climax of midsummer. People either build their own bonfires, or they go watch a public bonfire in a public midsummer celebration. Other traditions that can be seen around midsummer are silver birches, maidens in national costumes, and the flying flag of Finland. |
Easter is probably the holiday that has the most kept its religious meaning. Going to church is one of the most important parts of Easter. Children grow grass on plates indoors, they decorate Easter eggs and Easter cards. On Palm Sunday, children dress up as Easter witches going around houses with springs of willows in their hands. As a reward for reciting a special verse they get chocolate eggs or money.
Independence Day on December 6 is the most important national holiday in Finland's history. There are parades, patriotic speeches, special Church services, cakes with blue and white icing and other festivities. At 6 p.m. it's customary to turn the lights off and burn two blue and white candles on the window sill, out of respect for those who fought for Finnish independence under the repression of the last few years of Russian rule.
 |
| Picture of a traditional 'vappu' parade with university students on May 1. |
“Vappu”, May Day, is the celebration for younger generations. On this day, every Finn celebrates the spring even though most years it's still snowing. During this day, many celebrations combined take place, including: international workers movement, celebration of spring, springtime revelry of students, modern street carnival and the Finnish enthusiasm for drinking alcohol. This day is probably the wildest one all over Finland during the year. Restaurants and dance halls are full and people dance in the streets. Old students dig their graduation hats out of their bags and wear them all day long.
Valentine's Day (Friendship Day) 
St. Valentine's Day was assimilated into the Finnish calendar under the guise of Ystävänpäivä , 'Friendship day'. This day has rapidly become popular with campaigns by different organisations, and is used to further the aims of good causes such as health education and charity.Today people are more likely to express their love with gifts of candy, flowers, jewelry, or perfume. Usually the gift is given by the boy or man, but sometimes a couple exchange tokens. Also, gifts are given to a favorite relative or friend of either sex. Large or small, any gift given with love expresses the spirit of the holiday |
Easter
 In Finland, Easter has retained more of its religious character than the other church holidays, but secular traditions have also developed around it. Children grow grass on plates indoors, decorate Easter eggs and make Easter cards. In the 1980s, a new Easter tradition appeared among children, and spread like wildfire. On Palm Sunday, they dress up as Easter witches, and go from door to door with sprigs of willow in their hands. As a reward for reciting a special verse they are given sweets or money. |
Oven-baked Malt Porridge a Finnish Easter Treat
 The oldest and no doubt the most unusual traditional Finnish dish is mämmi, a dark brown porridge made of water and sweetened rye malt. It is baked in a slow oven in cardboard boxes made to look like birchbark baskets. Nowadays mämmiis a dessert served with cream and sugar, but originally it used to be a Lenten provision, eaten cold as such or spread on top of a slice of bread.
For a long time, Easter mämmi remained a special delicacy of southwestern Finns, until early this century the art of making mämmi spread nationwide, thanks to rural homemaking schools, agricultural societies and cookery books. Finland's independence in 1917 inspired a vigorous search for typically Finnish symbols. Mämmi, an age-old, genuine Finnish folk dish, was accepted as one. Nowadays it is a seasonal product for the bakeries. Rows of boxes resembling birchbark baskets and filled with mämmi appear in the food stores almost as soon as Christmas is over
Children with sooty faces and scarves tied round their heads go begging, carrying baskets, coffee pots and bunches of decorated virpovitsa willow twigs. Pussy willows are ancient Easter decorations |
|
Witches Fly at Easter
Stories and tales of witchcraft are a part of widely-known folk tradition. In Central Europe, witches are out and about especially on Walpurgis Night, but in the Nordic countries they fly between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the time when Jesus is still lying in the Garden Tomb behind a sealed stone door. According to popular belief, witches were old women who had sold themselves to the devil. They were much feared, because they had the power to hurt people and domestic animals. In some parts of Western Finland, the custom still remains of burning bonfires on Holy Saturday. This is said to be connected with the age-old habit of scaring witches |
Witches wishing You Good Luck
Blend the Eastern and western Traditions
At Easter you may well see quaint little characters walking around Finnish villages and suburbs. Children with sooty faces and scarves tied round their heads go begging, carrying broomsticks, coffee pots and bunches of decorated virpovitsa willow twigs. Little girls and sometimes even boys dressed as witches go from door to door, reciting good luck poems in return for money and sweets. |
|
Vappu May Day
International patterns can be discerned behind most of our festivities, but these foreign influences have, with time, been moulded into a true Finnish tradition. May Day is a case in point. Finnish Vappu combines such varied influences as the international workers' movement, European celebrations of spring, the traditional springtime revelry of Scandinavian students, the modern street carnival and the Finnishstyle enthusiasm for drinking. These ingredients all go to create a truly homespun Finnish carnival. On Vappu, every Finn celebrates the spring regardless of the fact that it may still be snowing... |
|
|
1907 was the year when the Mayflower organisation started to sell Mayflowers. The benefit goes to different activitys for children. |
|
Mead
Sima
- 5 liter water
- 350 g sugar
- 350 g brown sugar
- 2 lemons
- tiny bit of yeas
Wash the lemons and peel them thinly. Remove the pith. Slice the lemons and place them with the peel and sugar in a sufficiently large vessel. Bring half of the water to the boil and pour it over the lemons, peel and sugar. Stir and leave to stand covered for a while. Add the rest of the water cold. When the liquid is lukewarm add the yeast. Keep the mead at room temperature until it starts to ferment, i.e. about one day. Put a couple of raisins and 1 tsp of sugar into clean bottles, and strain the mead into the bottles. Loosely cork the bottles and store them in a cool place. The mead is ready when the raisins rise to the surface.
|
 |
Mothers Day
The Western tradition of Mothers' Day is a mix of family and commercial values, but in Finland, unlike other countries, this day has also acquired national importance. The idea of a day dedicated to all mothers was first conceived in the USA in the early part of this century, and soon spread to Europe. In Finland, primary schools were the first to organize Mothers' Day celebrations; all mothers were invited to the school on the second Sunday in May, where they were given flowers and their children provided the entertainment. Activities to honour mothers can be different for each family. Some children make breakfast for their mothers and serve it to them in bed when they awaken on Mother's Day. Others make a mothers day cake, buy special cards, flowers, or gifts. Dinner is prepared by children as a surprise or mother is taken out to eat for her special day
|
|
Midsummer in Finland
 Midsummer is surely the most harmonious of Finland's public holidays and brings out the best in everyone. Swedish speakers, who make up six per cent of Finland's population, call the day midsommar, easy for anglophones, while Finnish speakers refer to it as Juhannus, the Christian calendar's Feast of St John the Baptist.
The religious factor is hardly foremost, yet something metaphysical stirs inside the thousands of Finns who head for lakeside cabin or forest glade or parental home to commune with nature on Midsummer Eve and on into the luminous night. Even those left behind in town enjoy the peace that descends on streets emptied of cars and kids and commotion. Family and friends meet, eat herring and fresh potatoes and drink schnapps and beer. The actual day of celebration is also the longest day of the year.
"The burning of the Midsummer kokko (bonfire), originally a tradition linked, in the north and east of the country, with beliefs concerning fertility, cleansing and the banishing of evil spirits, has in the 20th century spread throughout Finland. It has become the central element in the programme of commercial Midsummer festivities, along with music and dance. Homes are decorated with flowers and birch branches. A Midsummer pole reminiscent of an ornamental sailing mast is part of the Finland-Swedish tradition of southern Finland and Åland."
Juhannus is also Finland´s Flag Day. According to the official rules, flags are raised at six in the morning on Midsummer's Eve and lowered at 21 hours on the evening of the following day. |
|
Fathers Day
Father's Day has become a day to not only honour your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends all play a part in fathering, and thus they deserve to be honoured on Father's Day.
Activities for Father's Day are similar to those for Mother's Day. Breakfast in bed, prepared by a father's children, gifts and cards, and also a day spent doing what a father would like to do can make this a special day for him. |
Christmas season
| Christmas is a festival centred on the family and in particular the children. It is the season to recall what tends to get forgotten the rest of the year but which is nevertheless important: other people, roots and traditions, and the idea of peace on earth and goodwill to all men.
|
Pikkujoulu or the first Sunday in Advent is the time when lights come on in Finnish shops. The first Advent candle is lit, the second on the second Sunday, and so on until the fourth is lit on the fourth Sunday, forming a slanting row. Little by little the advent decorations are brought out. The children hang up their advent calendars
Visiting friends will bee served ginger cookies and a cup of warm glögg |
   |
|
| The tradition of celebrating Lucia Day 13 th of December, came to Finland from Sweden in 1950. Finland´s national Lucia is chosen from among ten teenage girls by public vote. The voting is combined with fund raising for charity.
Lucia day is also celebrated within families. Lucia serves morning coffee and lusse bread and is singing the Lucia song.
|
  |
|
Christmas Eve
Finland differs from most other countries in that Father Christmas really does visit the home in person on Christmas Eve. Most often it is in fact father dressed up, but it may be a neighbour or relative. The children dress up as Father Christmas' little helpers: red tights, a long red cap, and a grey cotton suit also decorated with red. On his arrival, Father Christmas always asks the same question: "Are there any good children here?", and the answer is always an enthusiastic "Yes".
Not until this most important event on the programme has been taken care of is the main Christmas meal served. Now the table is decked with the best mother can provide
The good old traditional dishes appear on the Cristmas dining table year after year. Casseroles, herring, baked ham, lutefish, rice porridge, mixed fruis soup, dark syrup bread, christmas beer ..... and candy, lots of candy.
|
New Year
 |
 |
On New Year's Eve, many people arrange parties which last late into the night. It is traditional to greet the new year at midnight and celebrate the first minutes of the year in the company of friends and family. People may dance, sing, and drink a toast to the year ahead. After the celebrations, it is time to make new year resolutions, and these are a list of decisions about how to live in the coming year. At midnight people watch fireworks and the New Year celebrations on tv, hug and kiss to begin the new year with much love and happiness.But New Year's Eve is also a time for magic! Fortunes in the coming year are told from objects hidden under cups, or by interpreting the meaning of tin molten over the fire and cast into a bucket of cold water. The resulting piece of "sculpture" is held up to the wall, and the images formed by its shadow are omens of the future |
|
