State Festivities
The official festivities usually commence with the raising of the flag on Tähtitorninmäki ("Observatory Hill"), in Helsinki. There is a religious service at the Helsinki Cathedral and official visits to the war memorials of World War II.
YLE broadcasts the movie adaptation of The Unknown Soldier, based on Väinö Linna's iconic novel. In most years, the 1955 film is shown dozens of times and yearly since 2000, but the 1985 version has also been shown once in 1997.
In the evening, the Presidential Independence Day reception is held for approximately 2000 invited guests at the Presidential Palace. This event, known as Linnanjuhlat ("the Castle Ball"), is broadcast on national television and has been a perennial favorite of the viewing public. The first presidential ball was organized in 1919, and the event has been held most years since.
The reception invariably attracts the attentions of demonstrators, supportive of various causes, and various demonstrations and shadow parties are held to coincide with the official event. The late philanthropist Veikko Hursti organized the most popular of these events, providing free food for the poor and underprivileged. After his death in 2005 the tradition has been carried on by his son, Heikki Hursti.
The most popular television segment of the Independence day reception is the entrance of the guests. These include persons who receive invitations every year, including the knights of the Mannerheim Cross (traditionally the first ones to enter), members of the Government and the Parliament of Finland, archbishops, judges, high military and police officers, and various diplomats and dignitaries. The second group includes people of the President's own choosing, typically entertainers, activists, sportspersons, and in general, people who have been in the spotlight over the past year. The last people to enter are always the previous presidents.
Read more about this topic: Independence Day (Finland)
Famous quotes containing the word state:
“Wooing, wedding, and repenting, is as a Scotch jig, a measure, and a cinquepace; the first suit is hot and hasty, like a Scotch jig, and full as fantastical; the wedding, mannerly-modest, as a measure, full of state and ancientry; and then comes repentance and, with his bad legs, falls into the cinquepace faster and faster, till he sink into his grave.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)