Independence Day (Finland)
Finland's Independence Day (Finnish: itsenäisyyspäivä, Swedish: självständighetsdag) is a national public holiday held on 6 December to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from Soviet Russia. The movement for Finland's Independence started after the revolutions in Russia, caused by the disturbances from the defeats of the First World War. This gave an opportunity for Finland to withdraw from Russia. After several disagreements between the non-socialists and the social-democrats about the matter of who should have the power in Finland, the Senate of Finland, led by Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, finally gave on 4 December 1917 a Declaration of Independence which was adopted by the parliament two days later.
Independence Day was first celebrated in 1917. However, during the first years of independence, the 6th of December was in some parts of Finland only a minor holiday compared to 16 May, which was the day of celebration for the Whites who prevailed in the Finnish Civil War.
During the early decades of independence, Independence Day was a very solemn occasion marked by patriotic speeches and special Church services. From the 1970s onwards, however, Independence day celebrations have taken on livelier forms, with shops decorating their windows in the blue and white of the Finnish flag, and bakeries producing cakes with blue and white icing. Today, rock stars and entertainers have been accepted as worthy interpreters of Finnish patriotism.
It is traditional for many Finnish families to light two candles in each window of their home in the evening. This custom dates to the 1920s, but even earlier, candles had been placed in windows on the birthday of poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg as a silent protest against perceived Russian oppression. A popular legend has it that two candles were used as a sign to inform young men on their way to Sweden and Germany to become jägers that the house was ready to offer shelter and keep them hidden from the Russians.
Read more about Independence Day (Finland): State Festivities, 90th Anniversary Commemorative Coin
Famous quotes containing the words independence and/or day:
“...there was the annual Fourth of July picketing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. ...I thought it was ridiculous to have to go there in a skirt. But I did it anyway because it was something that might possibly have an effect. I remember walking around in my little white blouse and skirt and tourists standing there eating their ice cream cones and watching us like the zoo had opened.”
—Martha Shelley, U.S. author and social activist. As quoted in Making History, part 3, by Eric Marcus (1992)
“If a man liked his eggs half-boiled, she would bear it in her mind for ever. She would know the proper day for making this marmalade and that preserve; and she would never lose her good looks for a moment when she was doing these things. With her little dusting-brush at her girdle, no eyes that knew anything, would ever take her for aught but a lady.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)