Arts
Tove Jansson, the author of the Moominland stories, probably has the
highest international profile among contemporary Finns, although you
cannot escape the design work of Alvar Aalto in public buildings, towns
and furniture. Jean Sibelius, one of the greatest of modern composers,
wrote recognisably Finnish pieces for the glorification of his people and
in defiance of the Russian oppressors. Sibelius and the nationalistic
painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela fell under the spell of Karelianism, a
movement going back to the folk songs Elias Lonnrot compiled for the
national epic, the Kalevala in the 1830s. The Kalevala is an epic
mythology that includes creation stories and the fight between good and
evil. Aleksis Kivi founded modern Finnish literature with Seven Brothers,
a story of brothers who try to escape education and civilisation in favour
of the forest.
Language
Finnish is a Uralic language and belongs to the Finno-Ugric group. It
is closely related to Estonian and Karelian, and has common origins with
Samoyed and the languages spoken in the Volga basin. The most widely
spoken of the Finno-Ugric languages is Hungarian, but similarities with
Finnish are few. With 6% of the population speaking Swedish, Finland is
officially a bilingual country. Finlandssvenska, or 'Finland's Swedish',
is very similar to the language spoken in Sweden, but local dialects have
many Finnish words.
Food & Drinks
Finnish food has elements of both Swedish and Russian cuisines, but
with a lot of variations and local specialities. Potato is the staple
food, served with various fish or meat sauces. Some traditional meals
include game: try snow grouse, reindeer stew, glowfired salmon or raw
pickled salmon. Strong beers, wines and spirits are sold in licensed bars
and restaurants and by the state network, aptly named Alko. Coupled with
strict import restrictions, this makes alcohol prices prohibitively high
and merry-making a serious business.
National Anthem
To listen the national anthem click
here.
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