Mostly us Finns are described as quiet people who love to drink and sit in this hot room called sauna. To be honest, it’s pretty true, but in my experience Finnishness is so much more.
The first and most important thing – in my opinion – is our own language. Mostly only Finns speak it, so it’s like having your own secret language: no-one else understands you, except other Finns. It’s a weird language and very hard to learn. I think your own language is a huge part of your own identity as a finn.
The second thing that I think describes Finns well is keeping to ourselves. We Finns don’t like to talk to strangers or even sit beside them when travelling in a bus or a train. You’d rather stand the whole ride than sit beside a stranger. What could be worse, than asking a stranger to move when you need to get off the bus? Very few things.
In many countries Finns are considered rude, ’cause we aren’t exactly the masters of small talk. For us, being quiet is polite. In other countries, people grow up in environments where small talk is appreciated and being quiet means you’re either shy or being very rude. It’s not the same in Finland, if a Finn is quiet, she or he is probably just trying to be polite and give you your own space. In my opinion, Finns are probably one of the most honest cultures even though we lack words like ”please” and don’t like to small talk. We respect the other person’s privacy and we talk about things as they are rather than waste our time with small talk.
As a Finn, these things are part of my own every day routines, so it’s actually pretty hard to think about what Finnishness actually means to me. For me being a Finn is being a part of this quiet group of people who don’t like to compliment themselves. We Finns have a very hard time saying that we are actually good at something. I think winters are also a huge part of being a Finn, since this land is cold and covered with snow for like 90% of the year.
Finnishness for me is our own language, honest people who don’t like to be in the spotlight, summer cottages and skiing. I think that mostly I’m very proud of being a Finn, even if some of the stereotypes are true.
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