People in Finland have been migrating from the country side to the towns already in the 1960’s and -70’s. Alongside with migration from the countryside, the lifestyle has become more private, which means that larger family units have been broken and life has become more individually centred. One example of this is how almost every family member has their own personal mobile phone.
Nowadays, people are also moving into the large cities, especially to Southern
Finland, because it is easier to find a job there. Living in large cities is
more expensive than in the smaller ones. Each county or city council has built
some rented accommodation. Often, it is hard to get council housing because
of the long waiting lists. Those, on good income have no chance of being housed
by the council. Either they will have to rent from the private sector or decide
to buy their own accommodation. It is quite usual for people to live in their
own accommodation, because of the high rents. Families could end up paying
for their mortgage for up to thirty years.
Family in Finland means a unit made of a father, mother and the children. This is what is called a nuclear family. The size of the families has got smaller in the past few decades. Mostly the families have two or three children. Divorce has lately become more common too. Young people might move out of their parental home into their own apartment after turning 18, which is the age of becoming an adult.
Often, before legally getting married, the young man and woman live together. This is called a common-law marriage or cohabitation. A common-law marriage has become more popular also within the older couples. In addition, couples of a same sex are officially able to register their relationship. Often the grown up children live far away from their parents, because they have moved elsewhere for work or to study. Because of this, it is not always easy for the children to see their parents very often. It is quite usual for old sick people to live in the housing especially appropriate for the elderly where professional staffs looks after them. The society also takes some responsibility for looking after the elderly.
Even though we have high-level social security in Finland and the society looks after its weaker members, we have our own problems here. Loneliness has increased and it surely is one of the downsides of the private way of life. One of the visible problems is a high consumption of alcohol. Unfortunately, Finns are famous for their purposeful drinking to get drunk. This is one of the main social problems and one that also causes the break-ups of the families.
A man and a woman have equality in Finland. In the 1960’s and -70’s, when women went to work, men started doing the same jobs at home as women. Nowadays, women are also in the same occupations with men. In addition, more and more women are the decision makers of the society.
In the Finnish constitution, equality is stated the following way: “Everyone is equal before the law. No one shall, without an acceptable reason, be treated differently from other persons on the ground of sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, disability or other reason that concerns his or her person.”
The natural wealth of Finland is the four seasons. The weather is constantly changing and people talk about it a lot. Nature is very important to many Finns. Many people feel depressed during the dark autumn and long for the snow. Winter sports like skating, cross-country skiing and downhill skiing are very popular. Many people go to Northern Finland to ski on the mountains in Lapland. People also go hiking for many days on the mountains in Lapland, especially in the autumn when the nature shows its multiple colours, which we call “ruska”. For Finns, a nature is an object of a special respect and while in nature, it is considered inappropriate to be noisy. Water is also an important element of relaxation. In fact, all children in Finland are taught to swim.
It is quite usual for Finns to own or rent a cottage in the countryside during the summer, which is preferably by the lake. People like to spend time there relaxing without a care in the world. It is important to have a sauna in the cottage, which is used every day. In fact, sauna is one of the trademarks of Finland. Before, babies were born in sauna, and the dead were washed there too. Even nowadays, people like to go to sauna regularly. Sauna is not only for getting washed, people go there to relax too. When living in a block of flats, families can book a weekly turn in a communal sauna where they could have separate men and women’s communal turns too.
Hobbies play a large part of a modern way of using the spare-time and it is quite common for Finns to have hobbies that they have already started at childhood. Parents transport their children during the evenings and weekends to sporting or art related hobbies. Also adults and the elderly have quite a few hobbies themselves. Finns read a lot too. Books are easy to borrow from the library and it is free. If there is no library near by, a mobile library visits the area regularly.
Finland has a freedom of religion. Each person has the right to belong to the religious society they choose to or have no religion at all. About 90% of the Finnish population are Christians. About 85% of the Finns belong to an Evangelical-Lutheran Church, about 1% belongs to the Orthodox Church and about 1% belongs to the Pentecostal Church. In addition to these, there are many other Christian Church Communities in Finland. Only a few people in Finland are Muslims, Jewish, Buddhist or Hindu, or belong to some other religion. As a part of the increasing immigration, more Muslim communities are set up in many places. About 10% of the population does not belong to any religion.
Evangelical-Lutheran Church originates from Germany. Children are baptised and taken as a member of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church about one month after the birth. Before, the church used to look after the education and the poor people. Nowadays, however, the society is responsible for the well-being of its population, but the church still helps the needy. Every city, town and village has an Evangelical-Lutheran Church and a congregation. Each parish has at least a minister, cantor, deacon as well as a child and a youth councillors. The cantor is responsible for the music life in the parish and deacon for helping the parishioners. Finns tend to go to the church especially on national holidays. Advent that is the start of the Christmas period, Christmas and Easter are the popular national holidays when people go to the church. The teenagers go to confirmation classes when they are 15-years-old where they are thought Christianity after which, the young people profess Christianity in the confirmation at the church. This is usually a large family celebration.
Most of the Finnish national holidays are part of the Christian year. Christmas and Easter are the most important holidays for the Christians. Christmas is a celebration in memory of the birth of Jesus. The Christmas period starts four weeks before Christmas, which is traditionally the time of quiet preparation and fasting. Nowadays, however, this has become a busy time of Christmas parties. Workplaces, schools, nurseries and many other communities get together in a Christmas party to sing carols, burn candles and to have a meal together. Nowadays, one of the most important times of business for the stores is before Christmas, because at Christmas people give presents to their family and friends. Father Christmas brings the presents on Christmas Eve that is on the 24.12.
The Christmas Day is traditionally a family holiday when people are not going out. People celebrate New Year together by going out and setting off fireworks. Next to Christmas, Easter is another important Christian holiday. Easter is celebrated in memory of the death of Jesus and of his resurrection. Mayday is a spring celebration that is boisterously celebrated out of doors. This is a time of celebration especially for the high school graduates and the workers. Midsummer is a summertime celebration when people usually get out of the towns to their summer cottages and to be by the lakes.
Additional information: www.suomi.fi
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