Finnish people are often called as very silent people. Some say Finns only speak when needed or asked and most of the times answers are short and simple. No any meaning to be impolite.
Finns are also called private people, they take care of their personal space and do not open up so easily or fast. Finns enjoy minding (only) their own business (without meaning to be rude) and they do not want to draw attention to themselves.
Still they are worried what other people think about them and what kind of image other people get about them. Other people meaning as neighbours, relatives, friends, and every other Finn but also foreigners, people from other cultures.
I have discovered a side of Finns that we truly are interested in and even (a bit) obsessed with. The climate and the weather. Whether it is a holiday or just an ordinary day, we really want to know is there going to be a sunny or a cloudy day, when it is going to rain or snow. It does not matter if we have decided to spend the whole day inside. Still we must know the weather.
The weather is the topic of discussion everywhere: it is so easy to have a small talk with a Finn: just say something about the weather. When talking on the phone with my grandmother, we talk about the weather, not because it is the only topic, no, we have so much else to talk to, but because she actually cares how has the weather been in Tampere, as we live in different parts in Finland. I ask about the weather just to be polite.
I was wondering, why? Why we care so much and why we want to know everything about the weather. Why we check the weather forecast every day, couple of times per day.
Then it came in my head: We live our lives from year to another “in the hands of nature”. The weather and the four seasons of the year affect in our daily life so much, telling us what we can and cannot do.
The weather defines our free time activities. We have all four seasons of the year so we must change the activities when the season changes. In the spring and summertime people spend lot of time outside, doing gardening, enjoying the sun… In the autumn and winter people prefer to stay inside.
Most of the times people say about Finns that we kind of wake up in the spring and summertime, when nature wakes up again and sun is shining. On the contrary, in the autumn and winter people “fall asleep” as there is so much darkness and bad weather.
There is one excellent joke about Finns and the weather. Here is it: Finnish stand-up comedian Ali Jahangiri’s video about Finns and the weather:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61tnAhvdZpo
(Sorry, it is only in Finnish…)
It’s fascinating to learn about how deeply the weather and changing seasons influence Finnish culture and daily life. In Sri Lanka, the weather is a much simpler conversation, as we have only two main seasons: the monsoon (rainy) season and the dry season. We’re used to a warm tropical climate all year round, so we don’t experience drastic changes that impact our lifestyles as profoundly. However, weather still matters, especially because rain can disrupt outdoor plans or farming activities.
Ranmuni Dewage Pavithra Madhubhashi Wijerathne
6.11.2024 10:38