Languages
The main language spoken in Finland is Finnish (which is a Uralic language).
Swedish is the second language, which is also taught in school (just like French is taught to us in Germany). Swedish is a Germanic language and is built upon Equalitarianism (social equality and the concept of prioritising everyone).
Finland is huge, what leads out to there being lots of cultural differences among the various regions of Finland (e.g., dialect).
Western Finnish (Länsimurteet):
Pohjanmaa (Ostrobothnian): Spoken in the region of Ostrobothnia (Pohjanmaa) on the western. coast of Finland. This dialect is known for its distinct vocabulary and pronunciation.
Satakunta: Spoken in the region of Satakunta, which is also located in western Finland.
Southem Ostrobothnian: Is spoken in southern parts of Ostrobothnia.
Eastem Finnish (Itämurteet):
Savonian: Spoken in the Savo region in eastern and central Finland. Savonian dialects are known for their unique vocabulary and pronunciation.
Karelian: Spoken in the easternmost regions of Finland, Karelian dialects have meaningfulinfluence from the Karelian language and have a distinct sound.
South Karelian: Spoken in the region of South Karelia (Etelä-Karjala) and shares features withKarelian dialects.
Northern Finnish (Pohjoismurteet):
Lapland: Spoken in Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland. This dialect group has features influenced by the Sámi languages and is distinct from other Finnish dialects.
Central Finnish (Keskimurteet):
Hame: Spoken in the Tavastia region in southem Finland.
Uusimaa: The dialect of the Uusimaa region, which includes the capital city, Helsinki.
Southern Finnish (Etelämurteet):
“Helsinki slang”, while not really being a traditional dialect, Helsinki has its own “urban slang”which holds characteristics of both Swedish and Finnish
2. Religion
In the 11th Century, in prior of the Christianisation of Finland, Finnish Paganism was the primary religion. It was an Indigenous religion, worshipping different deities (the principal god being the god of Thunder and the Sky). Song Magic and Bear worship was common. In the 12th century Christianity entered Finland, making it the most common religion among Finns.Around 69% of Finland’s population belong to the evangelical Lutheran church. 28% is identified as non- religious, or atheist. 1.1% belong to the Finnish Orthodox church.
3. Holidays and FestivalsThe Holidays and Festivals of Finns are very similar to the western Christian calendar and protestant traditions. It’s a blend of a thousand year old Christian presence, vesicles and remains of old Pegan traditions.
Johannus (Finnish midsummer and Flag day)
Summer cottages (Mokki) is celebrated on one of their lake’s islands
Easter is a combination of Christian and Pegan customs, where children tend to dress up as witches on holy Sunday, giving away embellished branches of willow in exchange of sweets, which is quite similar to Halloween
Vappu (May Day) is the welcoming of spring after a year of little, to no daylight. There are Parades, Parties and on eve, the former and current students put on their graduation caps.
Finnish Independence Day is on the 6th of October and is a national holiday.
Public holidays, that are celebrated are Christan and secular holidays. The main Christian holidays are: Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost and All saint’s Day.Secular Holidays are: New Year’s Day, May Day, Midsummer and Independence Day.
4. Some cultural aspects (Finnishness)
Ice Swimming (in a Frozen crust of ice)
Kantele is a Finnish instrument (also partially played at our school in Karlsruhe)
Koskenkorua (Finnish vodka)
Going to the sauna
Ice hockey
Football
Sahti (Traditional beer)
Salmiakki (Salty liquorice)
Muumin (cartoon/comic, which can be seen literally everywhere?)
5. The Finnish cuisine
One dish I’ve eaten at my “foster family” was Karjalanpiirakka (made from thin rye crust with a rice filling andeggs on top) Finnish people are known for eating lots of Fish and Pork (Pork, beef and reindeer). Without manyvegetables included, as the aftermath of the continuation war. They often use wholemeal products in their dishes like rye, barley, oats and berries. Milk/buttermilk is also. served for free at a lot of places inc. Mc Donald’s (Makkare as some Finns say it ?) and at school. At school the main course of food is free everywhere in Finland, which I found surprising, as this isn’t the case inGermany and not common at all.Kisseli is a dessert/ drink, which is sweetened juice/puree of berries that is thickened with cornstarch and is a bit similar to “Grütze”, which is a German dessert. Kisseli is popularly eaten with porridge as breakfast. Their breakfast traditionally includes porridge, as it is warm and keeps you full for a while especially in cold winter. times.Some traditional sweets are Salmiakki (black liquorice), Tupla (Finnish chocolate), Da Capo (shoutout to A.T. who gifted me this chocolate, because it was her favourite :)), Pihajn (fox candy) and many more.
Fun Fact: Something I found interesting too, was the fact, that a study shows, hat Finland is home to the Happiest people on Earth, but also has the highest murder rates? :0.
By Lemis