photos: Envato
A brief introduction to Finnishness There is usually some truth to stereotypes and clichés, so they can be enlightening when you want to get to know Finland and Finnishness. So here we go:
Written by Roope Lipasti Translated by Alex Ahlgren & Owen F. Witesman
How to understand Finns? Geography and People
Going even further west, you find the Häme people, whom we won’t mention further because they don’t like to call too much attention to themselves. Conversely, on the West Coast people are even quieter than normal, which is good because the few words they say are usually rude. Ostrobothnians place their trust in two higher powers, themselves and God, especially the former. Finns in the middle of the country do not have any special characteristics other than that everyone owns their own lake. The north is home to people who live 150 kilometers from the nearest convenience store and 140 from a mailbox, which has made them quite broad-minded. There is also a minority of Swedish-speaking Finns, who differ from others in that they are beautiful, rich, healthy and live on the coast.
1. Language The Finnish language is very difficult, so much so that Finns themselves even avoid using it, which is why Finns often prefer to speak through their actions. The Finnish language is actually very ergonomic. You can just slap as many suffixes as you want on the end of a word, such as in, paikka/nsa/ pitä/mättö/myy/dessä/nsä/kö/hän/kään ([not] in their incorrectness either). There’s also pretty much no end to making compounds: lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas (Airplane jet turbine motor assistant mechanic non-commissioned officer trainee). It should also be mentioned that Finns find it funny when Germans put verb clusters at the end of subordinate clauses.
4. Character
2. Seasons
Every nation has certain hardened perceptions of its character, which often spread to neighboring countries too. For example, Finns are supposedly taciturn, honest, hardworking, trustworthy, humble, inventive, violent, drunk, shy, frumpy and persistent. All of these are true. But Finns are also talkative, cosmopolitan, educated, lazy, dishonest, affectionate, teetotalers, beautiful, outdoorsy, urban, gay, heterosexual, dour, xenophobic and very tolerant. Central to the nature of Finns are pessimism and self-flagellation. For example, the people who succeed in Finnish politics are those who know how to paint the darkest and ugliest future. People typically succeed in politics by promising that everything will go to hell if they’re not elected.
There are five seasons in Finland. Summer is short, bright and breathtaking, autumn is colorful and crisp. Winter is long, cold and beautiful. Spring is wonderful because winter is finally over. The fifth season is the second winter, which always arrives just when you think the damn winter is over.
3. Tribes Several very different tribes live in Finland. When traveling in Finland, it’s a good idea to take into account at least the following factors about the way these tribes behave: The East is home to talkative and emotional people who are usually crying when they aren’t laughing. These are the Karelians. To the west of Karelians live the Savonians, who consider themselves folksy but not everyone appreciates the subtlety of their wit. 8
