Old joke, but it is very funny to watch when people hear that you are from Finland and come up with that joke like you have never heard of it before. Talking about Finland, there is a lot of misconceptions about Finnish people, our culture and habits. Yes we love sauna, salmiakki and going to the lake naked during winter, but that’s not all. There is also people who say we are not very social and we are shy. Yes, this is true to some people like in any other country in the world. But personally I think that when you get to know a Finnish person, mostly they are very kind and quite social.
One of the things that make people (especially Americans) think that we are rude or don’t like to talk with strangers is that we don’t do “small talk” that much. And with foreign people, Finns usually don’t like to initiate conversation, but that doesn’t mean we are not willing to talk or to help. That’s just how we are.
SUMMER
Summer in Finland is known to be short, dry and not too hot. Finns like to spend time by the lakes and parks during the summer, and we also have quite a few music festivals, especially rock festivals.
Most Finnish people also like nature a lot. It is quite common to have a summer cabin with your family or close friends and spend time there. The cabins are usually located very close to a lake or any kind of water actually.
There is of course also a sauna near by. Midsummer festival is very common time of the year to spend time on your summer cabin with your family. Spending time there especially during midsummer usually involves drinking, barbeque and sauna.
NATURE
We are also called the land of thousand lakes. There are about 188 000 lakes in Finland and about five million people. So about one lake for 26 people. And usually when there is a lake, there is also a forest. About two thirds of Finland’s surface area is covered in forest.
Every Finnish person also has the right to walk in the woods, pick berries and swim in the lakes as long you don’t walk very close to the owners property. This is also called “everyman’s rights”. I like to think that this is one of the ways Finnish people show how they appreciate nature and equality.
It’s great to be a Finn.
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