When I think about who I am as person, one of the first thing to come to mind is a Finn. I cannot even seem to remember how many times I have explained my actions with saying that I am from Finland. I don’t think that it’s a bad thing.
Finnishness is all about kindness (in a very particular way), politeness, being close to nature and your family, going to sauna a lot, having a strong state of mind and keeping a safe distance to other people waiting for the same bus. Simple as that.
What I personally love about Finnish culture is the way peoples state of mind is depending on the season. Not in a way that I would love the common habit of people getting seasonal depression every winter, but in a way that the whole country knows it is time to calm down and get back to your own routines as soon as the first leaf is falling from a tree in the autumn. We are automatically programmed to activate our cozy-mode and it is acceptable if not advisable to stay at home in the evenings and watch your favorite shows all over again.
This all differs from summer Finns greatly. We all know that when the warming sun of the spring is hitting our faces for the first time, it is time to crawl out from our caves and be social again. Evenings at home switches to parties and coffee shop dates, and all the food is all of the sudden being grilled. As a society we have decided to act in a certain way, and we are all dedicated to this since we are Finns from head to toe.
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