Category: Finnish traditions

Juhannus: Midsummer in Finland

Juhannus is closing up, and if you are in Finland, chances are that you already have a plan for what to do. What is Juhannus? Juhannus is the longest day of the year. You can say that this is the second biggest holiday – head to head with Vappu – for the Finns, after Christmas. The longest day of the year, Juhannus, looks exactly like…

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Vappu: the Spring Fest in Finland (where they go wild)

If you are in Finland right now you will notice that everyone is excited, and some are thrilled out of their minds. The reason is that Vappu is coming. And what is Vappu? It is the spring fest of Finland, the Labour Day and the May Day. I remember how, during my first Vappu, nobody could explain to me very well what it was all…

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Valentine’s day in Finland is all about friendship

No gifts, chocolates or flowers for your partner on St. Valentine’s day if you live in Finland. Almost. It works like this in the Nordic (not Scandinavian) country: on Valentine’s day you’ll be looked at suspiciously if you make a great love gesture to your significant other. In Finland, the 14th of February has very little to do with crushes, couples or people in love….

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Halloween in Finland – is it a tradition?

I can recall that a year after landing in Finland for first time, the new Erasmus group living there told me that Halloween was a solid tradition in Finland. I didn’t remember that from my own time on Erasmus, although it is definitely true that I went to my share of Halloween parties. This sparked my curiosity and I decided it was time to find…

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