Some of my favourite traditional Finnish food>>

Perunamuusi+makkarakastike/Mashed potatoes+sausage sauce.















Lasagne/Lasagna


Karjalanpiirakka/Karelian pasty





Lohi/Salmon













Tonnikalasalaatti/Tunafish salad

















Tuliset kanansiivet/Hot chicken wings

See also

• Architecture of Finland
• Holidays in Finland, Flag days in Finland, Namesdays in Finland
• List of Finns

List of iconic cultural aspects

a list of the "100 Greatest Finns" of all time as voted by the Finnish people in 2004.

Below are listed some of the characteristics of Finnishness. The term "Finnishness" is often referred to as the national identity of the Finnish people and its culture.

A triptych by Akseli Gallen-Kallela, depicting the Aino Story of Kalevala on three panes.

Finnish Maiden	a figure of national personification symbolising Finland
Kalevala	the national epic of Finland, and Finnish mythology in general
Kantele	traditional musical instrument
Mämmi	traditional Easter food
Kalakukko	traditional Savonian food
Mustamakkara	traditional blood sausage from Tampere
Karelian pasties	traditional pasties from the region of Karelia
Joulupukki	Father Christmas/Santa Claus
Jean Sibelius	one of the most popular national figures (composer of the symphonic poem Finlandia)
Sauna	a Finnish national institution (see also Finnish sauna)
Sisu	will, determination, perseverance, mental fortitude
Perkele	swear word (see Finnish profanity)
Puukko	traditional Finnish style woodcraft belt-knife
Talkoot	community work
Ice swimming	swimming in a body of water with a frozen crust of ice
Nordic walking	a recreational sport first popularized in Finland
Salmiakki	salty liquorice
Sahti	traditional beer
Koskenkorva	Finnish vodka
Reilu meininki	fair dealing
Flying Finn	a nickname given to notable Finnish sportsmen (originated with Olympic medalist Hannes Kolehmainen)

Sports

sports

Paavo Nurmi at the 1920 Summer Olympics

Main article: Sport in Finland

2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Räikkönen celebrating victory at the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Various sporting events are popular in Finland. Pesäpallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sports in Finland in terms of media coverage are Formula One, ice hockey and football. The Finnish national ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finland-Sweden athletics international). Jari Kurri and Teemu Selänne are the two Finnish-born ice hockey players to have scored 500 goals in their NHL careers. Football (the game known in the USA as soccer) is also popular in Finland, though the national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships. Jari Litmanen and Sami Hyypiä are the most internationally renowned of the Finnish football players.

Kiira Korpi is figure skater. As of January 2010, she was ranked 11th in the world.

Relative to its population, Finland has been a top country in the world in automobile racing, measured by international success. Finland has produced three Formula One World Champions – Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982), Mika Häkkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari, 2007). Along with Räikkönen, the other Finnish Formula One driver currently active is Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren). Rosberg's son, Nico Rosberg (Williams), is also currently driving, but under his mother's German nationality. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leo Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo. Finland has also produced most of the world's best rally drivers, including the ex-WRC World Champion drivers Marcus Grönholm, Juha Kankkunen, Hannu Mikkola, Tommi Mäkinen, Timo Salonen and Ari Vatanen. The only Finn to have won a road racing World Championship, Jarno Saarinen, was killed in 1973 while racing.

Janne Ahonen is considered one of the best and most successful ski jumpers of all time.

Among winter sports, Finland has been the most successful country in ski jumping, Sharon loves ski jumping, with former ski jumper Matti Nykänen being arguably the best ever in that sport. Most notably, he won five Olympic medals (four gold) and nine World Championships medals (five gold). Among currently active Finnish ski jumpers, Janne Ahonen has been the most successful. Kalle Palander is a well-known alpine skiing winner, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in Kitzbühel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple FIS World Cup races.

Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890–1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897–1973) and Ville Ritola (1896–1982) who won eighteen gold and seven silver Olympic medals in the 1910s and 1920s. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and subsequently, other great Finnish sportsmen) often named the "Flying Finns". Another long-distance runner, Lasse Virén (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.

Also, in the past, Riku Kiri, Jouko Ahola and Janne Virtanen have been the greatest strength athletes in the country, participating in the World's Strongest Man competition between 1993 and 2000.

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others.

Some of the most popular recreational sports and activities include floorball, Nordic walking, running, cycling and skiing.

Public holidays

All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension Day, Pentecost, and All Saints Day. The secular holidays are New Year's Day, May Day, Midsummer Day, and the Independence Day. Christmas is the most extensively celebrated holiday: usually at least 23rd to 26th of December are holidays.

In addition to this, all Sundays are official holidays, but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament, it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays. Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Cinema of Finland

Finland has a growing film industry with a number of famous directors such as Aki Kaurismäki, Timo Koivusalo, Aleksi Mäkelä and Klaus Härö. Hollywood film director/producer Renny Harlin (born Lauri Mauritz Harjola) was born in Finland.

Visual arts

Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was Wäinö Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental busts and sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son Eero Saarinen. Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in furniture and glassware