Hyvää Itsenäisyyspäivää!

Or Happy Independence Day! Who is exhausted at just looking at those words? This language is still a daily challenge!

Back to Independence Day: in Finland it is celebrated on December 6th when they gained their independence from Russia in 1917. Finland had not been free before, but there were native people with a Finnish identity. The Swedes ruled from the 12th century until 1809 when the land was handed over to Russia and Finland became a Grand Duchy of Russia. The Russian Empire collapsed after the February and October Revolutions in 1917 and led to the collapse of the Grand Duchy of Finland. It gets complicated, but there was a power struggle in the Finnish government between the socialists and the non-socialists, independence was declared on December 6, 1917, and a brief civil war ensued that involved the Russians and the Germans. I think this will require another post in the future as my Finnish history is not strong and I think the story is long.

Independence Day is a national holiday and a flag day, so most people have the day off (public transit runs a limited route), the shops are closed, and the flags are flown. There is a military parade that rotates among the large cities of Finland (not in Helsinki this year), which is different from US parades: no floats and no candy. In the afternoon, a group of selected students form a torch-lit processional from the grave of the unknown soldiers to the President's House while singing. And at 6:00, people light two candles in their windows. 

A popular Independence Day past time is watching the President's Ball. The President holds a ball each year for about 2000 guests which include Knights of the Mannerheim Cross (a military decoration), members of government and parliament, judges, ambassadors, and other dignitaries, some people of the President's choosing (celebrities, activists, and this year common working people: a scientist in our department was invited), and finally former Presidents. The entire ball is broadcast on national TV and the most popular part to watch is the grand entrance where each guest shakes hands with the president and his/her spouse. The running joke is that it is an evening when 2.5 million people watch 2000 people shake hands. The germaphobe in me wondered whether there was a giant bottle of hand sanitizer for the guests out of view of the camera! People are dressed in formal attire and those with the flashiest dresses or shoes or hats capture the attention of the camera crews, sometimes at the expense of the next person in line. Depending on your feelings about being on camera, you would either love or hate being behind the woman with the most beautiful dress. After all of the people have filed in and the last hand has been shaken, there is a dinner and a dance, again all broadcast on TV. The cameras provide shots of the food, the people loading up their plates in the line, and up-close-and-personal shots of people dancing. During the broadcast, the TV journalists interview some of the guests, asking such questions as, "What does Finnish independence mean to you?" People poke fun at this TV event, but half of the country watches it anyhow and it is the topic of conversation on December 7th at work and in the newspapers, on the internet and on talkshows. 

How did I spend Finnish Independence Day? I blended some Finnish favorites: eating brunch and watching the handshake parade, with some of my favorite American downtime activities: reading and watching movies. It was a treat to have a day to relax!