thisisFINLAND

Finnish advice: Keep calm and Vappu on, safely

In the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Finland’s wild, carnival-calibre celebration Vappu (known as May Day, Labour Day or Walpurgis in English) calls for unusual amounts of creativity so that people can get together while still staying apart. Vappu – this time it’s virtual.

Life & society Health

Kids ask the Finnish government questions in corona info session

For the first time ever, a Finnish prime minister held a press conference in which the journalists asking the questions were schoolchildren. Sanna Marin and her colleagues addressed the nation’s kids directly.

Arts & culture Art

Finnish museums step up their online game to meet demand

Unable to invite visitors onto their premises, Finnish museums are taking to their websites and social media to meet the demand for beauty, inspiration and ideas, bringing audiences everything from video art to VR guided tours. Here are some of our favourites.

12 kg (26.5 lb)

Annual coffee consumption per person

Source: International Coffee Association

Arts & culture Music

Bridging the social distance, Finnish musicians realign online

As tons of gigs get cancelled or postponed, relegated to an indefinite future because of Covid-19, many musicians and other performing artists in Finland are reaching their fans online, either on designated concert sites or by posting video material.

Life & society Education

As Finnish teachers move classes online, family routines change

Families in Finland and all over the world are facing new challenges. Many parents now have more experience of working from home, and many children and educators are now well acquainted with distance learning. They are wondering if they will need to use those new routines in the future.

Life & society Equality

Happiness report elevates Finland and other Nordics, shows that people should look after each other

The annual World Happiness Report seeks to measure how happy people are in more than 150 different countries. The Nordic countries have repeatedly done well in this listing, and in the 2020 edition of the report, Finland is at the top for the third year in a row.

Arts & culture Webpick

Accordionist, composer Johanna Juhola gets award at Finnish Ethnogala for transcending borders

The third annual Ethnogala, a Finnish awards ceremony for folk and world music, was held at the legendary Tavastia Club in Helsinki in January 2020. An array of performers played live at the event.

Life & society Society

Facts and feelings: Do taxes make Finnish people happy?

What comes to mind when you consider Finland and taxes? What do Finnish people think about taxes? What are the facts? And what do the Finns get in exchange for their tax payments?

61 letters

Longest Finnish compund word (lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas)

Source: Guinness World Records

things you should and shouldn’t know