Different countries around the world celebrate their independence in different ways. Many countries such as the United States, Canada and Israel get in the mood with fireworks and barbecue. Parades are an essential part of the celebration in for example Bolivia and Cambodia, as well as in Norway where they organize several children’s parades during independence day. In countries such as Ghana and France they celebrate by having dance parties on the streets. Altogether it seems like in many countries’ independence day is a happy and lively event.
This is not the case in Finland. Our independence day takes place on the 6th of December. This year, in 2020, Finland will turn 103. We usually celebrate our independence very calmly and privately. There is a tradition called Linnan juhlat (The Castle Party) where our president invites around 1500-2000 of the most important and famous Finnish people to their presidential abode. The people invited include politicians, athletes, singers, war veterans and people who are otherwise remarkable in one way or another. The party begins with the president and their spouse shaking hands with each of the guests which takes hours. After this, the guests get to dance and mingle for the night. All of this is televised and most people who are not invited, which is almost everyone, sit on the couch and watch them have fun. There’s also commentary where a couple of people let the rest of us know who everyone is and evaluate the ladies’ clothes especially.
Sounds a bit weird, doesn’t it? To be honest, this tradition is quite boring to most who don’t get to attend the party. But I guess it represents Finnish people quite well. We are often considered pretty quiet and reserved and the typical Finn is seen as not being so keen on parties and other social gatherings. We also see independence day as more of a time to show respect than a time to party. In addition to watching the Linnan juhlat, we usually light candles to memorize those who fought in order to retain our independence during World War II. Many also watch the most famous movie about the war in Finland called Tuntematon sotilas, The Unknown Soldier.
But there is one more tradition that takes place during independence day: demonstrations. There are usually several of them since some people organize counter-demonstrations to demonstrations organized by someone else. These demonstrations are hugely popular, which shows that not all Finns are as passive and quiet as is usually thought but some are extremely passionate, vocal and also social. It is, after all, good to remember that though stereotypes usually have their roots in reality, they can never be applied to everyone they concern.
This year there will obviously not be Linnan juhlat or demonstrations because of the COVID crisis. This does not affect most Finns’ independence day celebrations too much since there would not have been much celebration in the first place. However, this may be a good time for us to really quiet down and spend time with our families without the tv being on all evening long. At least we can take a moment to be grateful, which is really needed these days.