Finland is something like a Nordic paradise; it is the land of white summer nights, of white Christmases and Santa Claus, and of a thousand pristine lakes. It contains kilometers upon kilometers of forest, where one can forage for mushrooms and berries, or simply bask in the scent of pine under the towering trees. Paradoxically, it is also a land of modernity and innovation, education and technology, and increasing cultural diversity.
Finns have fought long and hard for the right to their own, uniquely Finnish cultural identity. As politician and author Adolf Ivar Arwidsson famously said, “Ruotsalaisia emme enää ole, venäläisiksi emme tahdo tulla, olkaamme siis suomalaisia,” or, “We are no longer Swedes, we do not wish to become Russians, so let us be Finns.” This quote sums up neatly the desire for Finnishness, and the desire to carve out a space in which Finns are free to be, well, Finns.
This Finnish space is shaped largely by the concept of sisu, a word that is notoriously difficult to translate. It means something like strength and grit, the ability to stick to something in the face of hardship, all while remaining calm and stoic. You’ll see a bit of sisu in action when someone throws a little more water onto the stones of a sauna before finally jumping into the snow, or a nearby lake. You’ll notice it in winter, when the temperature is -22°F (-30°C), and there are scores of Finns skiing and ice skating, enjoying everything that the coldest season has to offer. In fact, you’ll see it all around you as you explore the modern Finnish state, the result of two hard-fought wars for independence.
Finland isn’t all grit and stoicism, however. It is, after all, the land of Alvar Aalto, the Finnish functionalist architect, of the composer Jean Sibelius, and of the myriad myths found within Elias Lönnrott’s collected epic, the Kalevala. It’s home to the films of Aki Kaurismäki, director, screenwriter, and auteur. And beyond music and literature, art and film, it is a thriving democracy. Low on crime, poverty, and corruption, it is no wonder that Finland is routinely found at the top of quality-of-life indexes. In other words, there is a great deal of beauty to be found beyond Finland’s sprawling forests.
It is a stereotype that Finns are silent and reserved. While there is some truth to this, it isn’t the whole story. If you spend some time here, if you break ruisleipä (rye bread) with them, and if you perhaps learn a word or two of Finnish, you’ll learn that there’s a lot more to be discovered: humor, fair-mindedness, resourcefulness, and generosity among them.
The winters are long and dark, so light a candle and you’ll have something to see by. The summer days are endless, so don’t go to sleep: stay up and watch a dusky sky turn to morning light. The language is notoriously difficult to learn, but not impossible: learn it and show yourself that a little sisu goes a long way. If you do these things, you will know more about what makes the Finns who they are—and, perhaps, find your own inner Finn.