ASEM 6

Finnish society is based on the Nordic model of welfare which guarantees a basic level of social protection for every citizen. Health care services, pensions and education, for example, are financed through tax revenue.  Families with children receive support and the period of maternity and parental allowances covers more than eight months and then under Finnish legislation, municipalities are responsible for providing day-care services for every child after the parental leave period.

 

Education

In Finland, children generally start school at the age of seven. Before comprehensive school, children may participate in one-year preschool education, mainly provided by social authorities in day-care centres. Finland has nine years of compulsory schooling. After the nine years, usually at the age of 16, young Finns can choose between general and vocational upper secondary education. Half of them opt for the upper secondary school.

 

After the upper secondary school stage, studying can be continued at the level of tertiary education. Currently, a one in four Finns has a qualification from higher education.

 

The Finnish education system has scored high marks in the OECD Programme for International Students Assessment, known as PISA, which evaluates the mathematical, scientific and reading literacy and problem-solving skills of 15-year-olds. In Finland’s case, the results showed that regional differences in students’ skills were minimal, which speaks for the equality of education in Finland.

 

Compulsory schooling and higher education are offered mainly free of charge. Students are also, on certain conditions, eligible for financial aid. Students may also receive a housing supplement and a state-guaranteed student loan.

 

Wide-ranging social support system

Basic health services are available for all persons residing permanently in Finland. Primary healthcare is provided by municipal health centres against a fixed customer fee.

 

The basic income of an unemployed citizen is guaranteed by unemployment benefit and a labour market allowance.  Unemployed persons are also assisted in seeking a new job and provided with opportunities to attend a training scheme, usually a vocational training course.

Family policy and services

Most Finnish women go out to work as society provides means for reconciling work and family life. Parents are entitled to maternity and paternity leave covered by an earnings-related maternity or paternity allowance. Maternity allowance is paid for the first five months of entitlement. Fathers living in Finland are entitled to paternity totalling three weeks. After maternity or paternity leave, either one of the parents is entitled to a seven-month child care leave.

 

Expectant mothers have a right to free medical examinations, and child welfare clinics provide antenatal classes for parents and monitor and support the physical, mental and social development of children. All expectant mothers residing in Finland are entitled to a maternity grant. Mothers can choose between a maternity package containing child care items and a cash benefit. Among the contents of the maternity package are clothing, feeding bottles, bedding and a portable cot.

  

Daycare

All children below school age are entitled to receive municipal daycare either at a daycare centre or in family daycare. Daycare costs are calculated according to a family’s size and income. About two out of three children attend daycare centres whilst the remaining third are in family daycare.

 

Conscription

In Finland, there is compulsory military service for all young men and they usually enter the army at the age of 19 or 20. Military service lasts for 180, 270 or 362 days. More than 80% of men in each age group complete military service.

 

Conscripts may also apply for civilian service and annually some 2,500 men do so. The duration of civilian service is 395 days. Since 1995, it has been possible for women to volunteer for military service and 400-500 women do so annually.

 

Traditional festivities

 

Midsummer (juhannus)

 

Midsummer celebrations in Finland have their roots in a pagan festival of light and fertility dedicated to "Ukko", the god of weather. Nowadays, Finns head for lakeside cabins to celebrate Midsummer and light the Midsummer "kokko" (bonfire). The sauna is another integral part of Midsummer tradition. In Finland, Midsummer night is a magical time. According to ancient Finnish folklore, a young woman will meet her future husband during the ongoing year if, during Midsummer night, she goes and rolls naked in a dewy corn field.

 

May Day (vappu)

"Vappu" (from German "Walpurgis") is celebrated on the first of May. In Finland it is a carnival day that combines the customs of the international workers' movement and the traditional springtime revelry of Scandinavian students.

 

On the first of May, even the weather, with its possible wintry breezes, cannot stop Finns from enjoying flamboyant picnics with sparkling wine in public parks. First of May marches, in the spirit of the workers’ movement, are also organised across the country.

 

Summer dwellings

In summertime, Finns leave the towns and head for their summer cabins or houses beside lakes or the sea. There are more than 450,000 such summer dwellings in Finland. In the past, summer dwellings were modestly equipped with no electricity or running water. Today, increasingly, they are being turned into all-year dwellings, or "second homes” fitted with all modern facilities.

 

 

 

Sauna

 

Finland is the land of the sauna and the Finns are a nation of sauna enthusiasts. Most Finns bathe in the sauna at least once a week. The sauna is considered both an essential part of the washing facilities in dwellings and a place for relaxing and soothing the mind. The expression ‘to have a sauna’ covers the whole bathing process and includes several repeated periods of perspiring in the heat and the steam, known as "löyly", produced by the water thrown on the hot stones of the sauna stove.

 

When possible, Finns also like to take a dip in a lake or the sea while having a sauna. In winter, depending on the location, some sauna bathers make a hole in the lake or sea ice and immerse themselves or swim for a while in the chilly water, which they say is a beneficial habit.

 

Saunas are very common in town dwellings, too, and are adjacent to the bathroom in almost all new apartments. It is estimated that as many as 1,3 million Finnish homes have a sauna of their own. In addition, there is a large number of separate sauna cabins in the countryside, mainly close to the summer dwellings.

 

Finnish cuisine

Finnish cuisine has been influenced by the east and the west. Food in Finland is pure, authentic and not over-processed; it is made using produce from the least-polluted country in Europe, with the cleanest environment.

 

Karelian pasties with their thin rye crusts filled with rice were originally a regional speciality that have for years been eaten all over Finland. North Karelia, in the eastern part of the country, is their birthplace. If eaten in the traditional way, Karelian pasties should be spread with a mixture of hard boiled egg mashed with butter.

 

The "kalakukko" fish and meat pie is a culinary curio from the province of Savo in eastern Finland. In consists of a rounded, loaf-shaped crust filled with fish and fatty pork. The fish and pork content can be replaced by vegetables. "Leipäjuusto", literally 'bread cheese', is a product of western and northern parts of Finland. It is an unusual cheese as, unlike cheeses in general, it is baked in the oven during the cheesemaking process. It is often served with cloudberry jam.

 

Different kinds of pasties, "rieska" and other kinds of bread together with homemade beer, known as "sahti", make part of the traditional cuisine. Dark rye bread, raw pickled fish and reindeer are also traditional fare.

 

Today, Finns are no strangers to international cuisine. Pizza, pasta, Asian and fast food are now popular particularly among the young.

 

Universal right

 

The traditional Finnish legal concept of everyman's right allows free right of access to the land and waterways. This means that wild berries, mushrooms and flowers may be freely picked wherever everyman’s right allows access to the land, as long as they are not protected species.

 

People may also fish with a rod and line as long as they do not disturb other people or damage property.

 

  

 

Virtual Finland: The Finnish school – a source of skills and well-being

Virtual Finland: Family-friendly Finland

Virtual Finland: Guide to Finnish customs and manners

Virtual Finland: Traditional festivities

Suomi.fi -Public Services in Finland

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

Ministry of Defense

Ministry of the Environment: Everyman's rights