Writeit Resources: Learn about Finland

Introduction: This page was started as part of Rita Zeinstejer’s Sharing Culture project in Rosario, Argentina, where several international EFL teachers were interviewed by her students. Some of the students interviewed me about Finland. I first collected some links to answer their questions and help them with their reports. Numbers 1-5 were for the students, but I’m continuing this project  my own way.  Also, please check all posts in my blog in the categories ‘Multicultural’ and ‘Finland and Finnish Culture’.

10. The Seasons: In Northern Finland and Lapland there are 8 seasons:

* Frosty Winter
* Crusty Snow
* Departure of Ice
* Midnight Sun
* Harvest Season
* Colourful Autumn
* First Snow
* Christmas Season
Find out more from http://iwwww.rovaniemi.fi/?deptid=17961

9. Finnish Folklore and Proverbs

The Kalevala is the national saga of Finland. It was put together (and embellished) by Elias Lönnrot in the late 19th Century from traditional folk-tales told by rural storytellers.

• http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kveng/

Finnish proverbs: Many, but not all, of the Finnish proverbs are taken from their national epic, the Kalevala. I’m grateful to the members of LinkedIn who have sent me links and helped me to collect the list below.

The first 2 links below have English translations):

• http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Finnish_proverbs
• http://jdmoncada.tripod.com/finn/runot.html

• http://koti.mbnet.fi/~raijae/sanailua/sananlaskut.html
• http://koti.mbnet.fi/~raijae/sanailua/sananlaskut2.html
• http://www.nettilinja.fi/~pniikko/sananlaskut.htm

Finnish proverbs sent to me from members of LinkedIn: Ora Lassila, Pekka Mehtala, Severi Pakala, Jukka Kotovirta , Jani Alanko, Sari Kujala and more…

• Pata kattilaa soimaa, musta kylki kullakin (Pot calling the kettle black”)
• Niin makaa kuin petaa (You reap what you sow)
• Parempi pyy pivossa kuin kymmenen oksalla (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)
• Ei savua ilman tulta (Where there’s smoke, there’s fire)
• Lepä miehen tiellä pitää. (Bread keeps a man on the road)
• Suutarin lapsilla ei oo kenkiä. (Shoemakers’ children don’t have shoes)
• Parempi virsta väärään kuin vaaksa vaaraan (Better a mile astray than inch away from danger)
• Ei omena kauas puusta putoa. (Like father, like son. )
• Kellä onni on, se onnen kätkeköön (He who has luck should hide it)
• Parempi pyy pivossa kuin kymmenen oksalla  (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush)
• Teot painavat enemmän kuin sanat (Actions speak louder than words)
• Haukkuva koira ei pure (A barking dog  doesn’t bite )
• Parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan (Better late than never )
• Vaatteet tekevät miehen (Clothes make the man )
• Kuka viimeksi nauraa se parhaiten nauraa (He who laughs last, laughs longest )
• Poissa näkyvistä, poissa mielestä (Out of sight, out of mind )
• On taottava silloin kun rauta on kuumaa (Strike while the iron is hot )
• Erilaisuus on elämän suola (Variety is the spice of life )
• Maassa maan tavalla (When in Rome, do as the Romans do )
• Vierivä kivi ei sammaloidu (A rolling stone gathers no moss )
• Ei kaikki kultaa mikä kiiltää  (All that glitters is not gold )
• Loppu hyvin kaikki hyvin ( All’s well that ends well)
• Omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (An apple a day keeps the doctor away )
• Kauneus on katsojan silmässä (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder)
• Veri on sakeampaa kuin vesi (Blood is thicker than water)
• Herran pelko on viisauden alku (Brevity is the soul of wit )
• Älä heitä vauvaa pesuveden mukana (Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water )
• Minkä voit tehdä huomenna, tee jo tänään (Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today)
• Älä opeta isääsi naimaan (Don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs)
• Tieto lisää tuskaa (Familiarity breeds contempt )
• On helppoa olla jälkiviisas (It’s easy to be wise after the event )
• Ei ole lahjahevosta suuhun katsominen (Never look a gift horse in the mouth)
• Ei Roomaakaan rakennettu päivässä (Rome was not built in a day)
• Puhuminen on hopeaa, mutta vaikeneminen kultaa (Speech is silver, but silence is golden )
• Hedelmistään puu tunnetaan (The tree is known by its fruit )
• Aikainen lintu nappaa madon (The early bird catches the worm )
• Ruoho on aina vihreämpää aidan toisella puolella (The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence)
• Poikkeus vahvistaa säännön (The exception proves the rule)
• Oma koti kullan kallis (There’s no place like home, home sweet home)
• Ei savua ilman tulta (There’s no smoke without fire )
• Mitä useampi kokki, sitä huonompi soppa (Too many cooks spoil the broth)
• Kun kissa on poissa, hiiret hyppivät pöydillä (When the cat’s away the mice will play)
• Ei vanha koira opi uusia temppuja (You can’t teach an old dog new tricks)
• “Jos sauna, viina tai terva ei tauta, tauti on kuolemaksi (If the disease doesn’t go with booze, tar or sauna – it´s lethal)
• “Parempi myöhään kuin ei milloinkaan” (Better late than never)

8. History

I live in Kivenlahti, Espoo, Finland. The Porkkala area of Southern Finland was leased to the Soviet Union between 1994 and 1956, and the bridge at Kivenlahti was the frontier. A map of this area and details about the units stationed there are given in an article in the International Edition of Helsingin Sanomat.

Evacuees had their belongings dumped here and from this point on had to fend for themselves. Nowadays, this bridge marks the end of Länsiväylä, the motorways that runs through Espoo.
7. Education

• Finnish education has a very good name. Finnish school children were the best ones at maths in the OEDD PISA Report in 2003
• http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/63/34002454.pdf

• and are also best at reading : Finnish teenagers are the best readers

http://www2.hs.fi/english/archive/news.asp?id=20011205IE2

6. Government

• Learn about the new Constitution of the Republic of Finland here and about the background to this reform.

• This is a good link for learning about the Finnish government and its activities. You can also subscribe to Press Releases: http://www.government.fi/etusivu/en.jsp

• Facts about the Finnish Government

5. Family

• There’s a paper with references on “The Finnish Family” here, written in 2003:

http://www.uta.fi/~anna-leena.ollikainen/paper1.html

• “Combining work and family“: Written for Virtual Finland by Minna Salmi Ph.D,

http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25733

• “About 50 per cent of Finland’s five million people live in families with children under 18 years of age. A quarter of these families have children under the age of three. Over 80 per cent of families with children have both parents, while 19 per cent of all the families with children have only one parent, usually the mother (17 per cent). Almost half of all families have only one child, 38 per cent have two children and 19 per cent have three or more children. There are about 1.1 million children under the age of 18, of whom 416,000 are under school age, and about 170,000 are under the age of three. In the 1990s, the annual birth rate varied between 57,000 and 65,000 children. In 2001, the figure was 56, 200.”

4.  Relaxation

• Sauna http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26077

• Finnish Festivals http://www.festivals.fi/index.php?s=9&b=&t=9〈=eng

• Outdoor activities/sports and more here too

http://www.iexplore.com/dmap/Finland/Activities

http://www.finland.com/cat-Winter%20Activities-cat.do

• Cottage holidays
• http://www.lomarengas.fi/?Deptid=774

• An article with links from the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/finland+restandrelaxation

3. Economy and work: http://www.finnfacts.com/english/index.shtml

• Many jobs are available in the service sector. The business trend in Finland is still better than normal in almost all sectors. Technology and innovation, pharmaceuticals and are also being developed now.
• You can find up-to-date facts about the economy here: http://www.finnfacts.com/english/economy/index.html

2. Teenagers

• Age of Consent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_Europe#Finland

The age of consent in Finland is 16, as specified by Section 6(1) (Sexual abuse of a child) which reads: “A person who has sexual intercourse with a child younger than sixteen years of age … shall be sentenced for sexual abuse of a child to imprisonment for at most four years.”

• Legal drinking age http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_drinking_age

“Beer, cider and alcopops containing up to 4.7% alcohol can be bought in any store, whilst any beverages exceeding that limit must be purchased at Alko. Although consumption by minors is not prohibited, it is strictly limited to certain rare situations because of various statutes regarding possession and offering. Because of this, legal drinking age is often perceived to be 18 by the general public. Purchase age also applies to possession.”

• Helsinki for the young and eager:

http://www.finland.com/youngpeople.htm

1. Marriage and Weddings

Both women and men may marry at 18. For those below this minimum age, the Ministry of Justice may grant permission to marry, if there are special reasons for marriage. Permission does not require the consent of the guardian or the custodian.

• Wedding customs

http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26047

• Cohabitation (Living together)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohabitation

“In late 2005, 21% of families in Finland consisted of cohabitating couples (all age groups). Of couples with children, 18% were cohabitating^[15]. Of ages 18 and above in 2003, 13.4% were cohabitating^[16]. Generally, cohabitation amongst Finns is most common for people under 30. Legal obstacles for cohabitation were removed in 1926 in a reform of the Finnish penal code, while the phenomenon was socially accepted much later on among non-Christian Finns.”

• Marriages on the increase:

http://www.stat.fi/til/ssaaty/2007/ssaaty_2007_2008-05-14_tie_001_en.html

• Accumulated divorces by 2007

http://www.stat.fi/til/ssaaty/2007/ssaaty_2007_2008-05-14_kuv_002_en.html