My Experiences of Finnishness

Summer in Finland

Although people in Finland complain that summers have been getting colder and rainier year by year I would still say It’s my favourite time of the year.  It’s the time for festivals, long summer nights, midsummer celebrations and going to the summer cottage.  Many families in Finland own a summer cottage often located on a nice and peaceful lakeshore or on an island. Every summer cottage must have a sauna because It’s such an important part of the Finnish lifestyle.  Midsummer is a big celebration all around Finland. Finns gather all their friends to a summer cottage or to a festival to spend it together. Even though Finns are hard workers and the summers usually go on the job I think It’s still the time for vacations and relaxing summer days.

Sauna

Like I said before Sauna is a very important part of the Finnish lifestyle.The sauna is a steam room where Finns go to sweat, relax, drink beer and clean themselves. It is very common to have your own sauna in your home. Sauna is definitely something I grew up with and I would say many others do too. When I was younger my family would go to the sauna literally every day of the week and later on as I got older always on the weekends. In my opinion the best place to go to a sauna is on a summer cottage. When the sauna is near a lake It’s common to take a dip in the water, no matter if It’s winter or summer.

Finnish people

Finns are know to be people of few words. Small talk is not regular in Finland, especially with strangers. I think It’s true but somewhat a misconception. Finns are very shy at speaking English so I think sometimes foreigners confuse it with being shy overall. When you get to know a Finn they can be very talkative and outgoing. I think the best thing about Finns is their attitude and work ethic. Finnish people are know to be “sisukas”. There is no direct translation for the word “sisu” but it basically means strength, willpower, persistence and guts which are qualities that all the Finns own.

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