Finnish culture and traditions: holidays, the Kalevala, sauna and religion

Quick answers

What is the most important holiday in Finland?

Christmas (joulu). The main day is Christmas Eve (jouluaatto) on 24 December, when presents are usually given.

When is Independence Day?

On 6 December (itsenäisyyspäivä). Finland became independent in 1917. By law the day is a general holiday and day off every year.

What is the Kalevala?

Finland's national epic (kansalliseepos). Elias Lönnrot compiled it from old folk poems. The first edition came out in 1835 and the New Kalevala in 1849.

Is there freedom of religion in Finland?

Yes. Under section 11 of the Constitution, everyone has freedom of religion and conscience. You may belong to a religious community or not belong to one.

This chapter is about Finnish culture and traditions: the holidays of the year and what the law says about days off, the Kalevala, the Finnish language, music, design, the sauna, everyday customs and freedom of religion.

What are the most important holidays in Finland?

Christmas (joulu) is the most important holiday of the year. The main day is Christmas Eve (jouluaatto) on 24 December. That is when presents are usually given, and a Christmas tree is brought into the home.

Easter (pääsiäinen) is usually in March or April. On Good Friday (pitkäperjantai) people remember the death of Jesus, and on Easter Sunday his resurrection. Over Christmas and Easter many shops and offices are closed.

May Day (vappu) on 1 May is the celebration of spring and of working people. People drink sima, a lemonade-like drink, eat doughnuts and have picnics. Upper secondary school graduates wear their white student caps.

Midsummer (juhannus) is the celebration of midsummer at the end of June. Many people spend it at a summer cottage (mökki). Bonfires (kokko) and the Midsummer sauna belong to it.

Independence Day (itsenäisyyspäivä) on 6 December remembers Finland’s independence. Finland became independent in 1917. Many people watch the President’s Independence Day celebration on television.

Other familiar days are Mother’s Day (äitienpäivä) on the second Sunday in May and Father’s Day (isänpäivä) on the second Sunday in November. All Saints’ Day (pyhäinpäivä) is in early November. People remember the dead and take candles to graves.

Which days are holidays and days off by law?

Independence Day has its own law. Under it, 6 December is a general holiday and day off every year. If the day falls on a weekday, work stops as on a Sunday.

The Church Act (kirkkolaki) lists the church holidays (kirkolliset juhlapäivät). They are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day, Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whitsun, Midsummer Day and All Saints’ Day.

The Annual Holidays Act (vuosilomalaki) says which days do not use up annual leave. Besides Sunday and the church holidays, they are Independence Day, Christmas Eve, Midsummer Eve, Easter Saturday and May Day.

A decree also lists the official flag days (liputuspäivät), when state offices raise the Finnish flag. They include Kalevala Day on 28 February, May Day, Mother’s Day, Midsummer, Father’s Day and Independence Day. Midsummer is also the Day of the Finnish Flag.

What is the Kalevala?

The Kalevala is Finland’s national epic (kansalliseepos). The doctor Elias Lönnrot compiled it from old Finnish and Karelian folk poems. The Old Kalevala came out in 1835. The longer New Kalevala came out in 1849, and it has 50 poems.

The Kalevala strengthened the position of Finnish as a written language. It has inspired artists such as the painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela and the composer Jean Sibelius. The Kalevala has been translated into more than 60 languages. Kalevala Day on 28 February is also the day of Finnish culture.

Why is the Finnish language an important part of the culture?

Mikael Agricola (about 1510–1557) was Bishop of Turku. He brought the Reformation to Finland and laid the foundation of written Finnish. His primer, the Abckiria, is considered the first piece of literature in Finnish. Agricola’s Finnish translation of the New Testament came out in 1548. Finnish Language Day is 9 April.

For a long time Swedish was the dominant language in Finland. The Language Decree of 1863 began the process by which Finnish became an official language of administration. Aleksis Kivi’s novel Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä) came out in 1870. It has been called the first novel in Finnish. Kivi’s birthday, 10 October, is Finnish Literature Day.

Under the Constitution, Finland’s national languages (kansalliskielet) are Finnish and Swedish. The Sámi as an indigenous people, the Roma and other groups have the right to maintain and develop their own language and culture.

What belongs to Finnish music and design?

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) is Finland’s best-known composer. His work Finlandia was written in 1899–1900. Its best-known part is the Finlandia Hymn. Sibelius’s birthday, 8 December, is Finnish Music Day.

Finnish design is known around the world. Examples are Alvar Aalto’s Stool 60 from 1933, Marimekko, which started in 1951, Fiskars scissors with orange handles and Tove Jansson’s Moomins.

Why is the sauna important to Finns?

Finland has more than three million saunas. People wash and relax in the sauna. The sauna also belongs to celebrations: there is a Midsummer sauna and a Christmas sauna. When water is thrown on the stones of the sauna stove (kiuas), it makes steam called löyly.

People are usually naked in the sauna, and there is nothing sexual about it. In swimming halls women and men have their own saunas. Finnish sauna culture was added to UNESCO’s list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2020.

What customs are part of everyday life in Finland?

Punctuality is important, especially when you go to a public office or a doctor. People often shake hands and make eye contact when they greet. Many people use first names. Shoes are not worn indoors at home. Silence is not a bad thing, and you do not need to fill pauses with talk.

Thanks to everyman’s rights (jokamiehenoikeudet), you can move freely in nature. Most outdoor activities do not need the landowner’s permission.

Is there freedom of religion in Finland?

Yes. Under section 11 of the Constitution, everyone has freedom of religion and conscience (uskonnon ja omantunnon vapaus). It includes the right to practise a religion, to express a conviction and to belong or not belong to a religious community. Nobody may be forced to take part in religious practice against their conscience.

You can leave a religious community by telling the community or the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in writing. An adult decides on their own religion. The guardians decide on a child’s religion. However, a child who has turned 12 cannot be made a member or be registered as leaving without their own written consent.

Finland has about 170 registered religious communities. At the end of 2025, just over two million people did not belong to any religious community.

What is the position of the churches in Finland?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Orthodox Church have a special status in Finland. For example, they have the right to levy taxes. Church tax (kirkollisvero) is paid by church members who pay municipal tax. The tax rate varies from parish to parish.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the largest religious community in Finland. At the end of 2025, 61 percent of the population were members. Under the Constitution, the church’s organisation and administration are laid down in the Church Act. The Orthodox Church has its own law. At the end of 2023, the Orthodox Church had about 56,000 members.

At school a child has the right to be taught their own religion. A pupil who does not belong to a religious community and does not take part in religious education studies secular ethics (elämänkatsomustieto).

What to know from this chapter

• Independence Day 6 December (1917), May Day 1 May, Midsummer at the end of June, Christmas and Easter.
• Which days are church holidays and what a flag day is.
• The Kalevala: Elias Lönnrot, 1835 and 1849, Kalevala Day 28 February.
• Agricola, Aleksis Kivi and Sibelius. The national languages are Finnish and Swedish.
• Sauna culture has been on UNESCO’s list since 2020.
• Freedom of religion (section 11 of the Constitution) and the special status of the two churches.

Practise chapter 3

Test yourself with the questions for chapter 3. Some questions are open, the rest are part of the course. The questions are practice questions we wrote ourselves, not questions from Migri’s test. The test is in Finnish or Swedish, so the questions are in Finnish. Read the explanation after each answer, and you will remember better.

Difficult words in this chapter

itsenäisyyspäivä

Independence Day, 6 December; a general holiday and day off

juhannus

Midsummer, the midsummer celebration at the end of June; Midsummer Day is the Saturday between 20 and 26 June

kirkollinen juhlapäivä

church holiday: a holiday listed in the Church Act, for example Christmas Day, Good Friday or Ascension Day

liputuspäivä

flag day: a day when the Finnish flag is raised

kansalliseepos

national epic: a long narrative poem that belongs to a nation; in Finland, the Kalevala

löyly

the steam that rises when water is thrown on the hot stones of the sauna stove

uskonnonvapaus

freedom of religion: the right to choose a religion, practise it or not belong to any religion

kirkollisvero

church tax, paid by members of the Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox churches to their parish