Especially nowadays, many Finnish people say that our culture, language, and traditions are important things to protect. I definitely agree with that, but every time the topic comes up, I find myself wondering — what is Finnishness, and what does it mean to me?
One of the greatest things about Finland and Finnish culture is our sense of time — our punctuality and the way we stick to schedules. We are very punctual people, and we like things to make sense, no matter what we’re doing. I noticed this during a project week in Portugal with a few of my classmates. The week was organized by a school, and there were students from Belgium, France, Spain, and Portugal. Every time we were going to campus, lunch, or anywhere else, we always had to wait for students from other countries because they were late. All the Finnish students were always about 10 minutes early, and the others 10 minutes late. That really highlighted the cultural difference between Finnish culture and others.
Another thing that comes to mind is how modest Finnish people are. In my opinion, this is not always a good trait. For example, if someone says, “Wow, you have a very nice house!”, a Finnish person might respond, “No, it’s not that great,” or even, “It’s just a crappy house,” even if it’s perfectly fine. This is just part of our culture, but I think it’s important to be able to receive praise graciously.
There are definitely both pros and cons in Finnish culture and mindset. Still, I am very proud of being Finnish, and Finnishness means a lot to me. I truly love our country.
Comments