Nationality: Finnish
Religion
The major religion in Finland is Christianity but people are free to practice the religion they choose.
Culture and tourist attractions
People from Finland are known as being modest and respectful and for speaking honestly. This is maybe because they don’t want to be on Santa's naughty list! The Finns regard their country as the home of Santa Claus, who they say lives in the north of Lapland.
Just like Santa, Finnish people love a glass of milk. They drink more milk than anywhere else in the world. They also love coffee.
The country is full of lakes and is known as the “country of a thousand lakes”. Many families have a lake house where they spend their summer holidays. The country is also known for its saunas and most homes have one. There around 2 million saunas in a country of only five and a half million people!
The country has some strange sports. Pesapallo is the national sport, it’s played with a bat and is similar to rounders. Other sports are mosquito hunting, swamp football, rubber boot throwing, and the Air Guitar World Championship. They must be fun to play!
When it comes to food, potatoes are a favourite side dish and fish, pork, beef and reindeer are the main meats. But don’t worry, they haven’t eaten any of Santa’s reindeer yet!
Karelian pasty is a delicacy made from rye pastry and filled with rice and boiled eggs. They are served hot and sometimes have melted butter brushed over the top. Sounds delicious!
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are often seen in Finland. People can spend a night in a glass igloo to watch them dance through the sky.
Famous people
Linus Torvalds - he invented the famous computer software called Linux.
Jean Sibelius - the most important Finnish composer.
Karita Mattila - a famous opera singer and winner of the first Cardiff singer of the world competition.
Did you know?
- In Finland they believe children should spend a lot of time playing and children don’t start school until they are seven years old. Their system seems to work because their education system ranks as one of the best in the world!
- There are 179,584 islands in and around Finland!
- Finland’s 120 km Päijänne Water Tunnel is the longest tunnel in Europe and the second longest tunnel in the world.
- The mobile company Nokia is Finnish, it got its name from a small town called Nokia.
- In the winter the Gulf of Finland sometimes freezes, and special boats called icebreakers have to plough through it. They break the ice into big chunks so other ships can sail through and not get stuck.
