December 6th was Independence Day here in Finland.
I was lucky enough to take part in the festivities. One of the student associations at the school arranged a "parade" and ceremony. Those of us participating in the parade walked from the school, through the city centre to a cemetery where the ceremony took place. We were each given a torch to carry. The torches didn’t have very good wicks, so by the time we were half way through the route only one or two were left burning. It must have looked quite odd for the few people who lined the streets ready to watch a torch-lit parade!
I will admit that I do not know very much about this holiday. I was not able to follow the majority of the ceremony which was primarily conducted in Finnish but from what I gathered, it is similar to our Remembrance Day. The soldiers who fought to give Finland independence were honoured and wreaths are laid at the cemetery. The cemetery where the ceremony took place had hundreds of candles for the occasion and was actually quite beautiful.
I am very glad that I was able to attend an event unique to Finland. But, I must say that I am looking forward to Canada Day...the weather will be much warmer (hopefully)!
I was lucky enough to take part in the festivities. One of the student associations at the school arranged a "parade" and ceremony. Those of us participating in the parade walked from the school, through the city centre to a cemetery where the ceremony took place. We were each given a torch to carry. The torches didn’t have very good wicks, so by the time we were half way through the route only one or two were left burning. It must have looked quite odd for the few people who lined the streets ready to watch a torch-lit parade!
I will admit that I do not know very much about this holiday. I was not able to follow the majority of the ceremony which was primarily conducted in Finnish but from what I gathered, it is similar to our Remembrance Day. The soldiers who fought to give Finland independence were honoured and wreaths are laid at the cemetery. The cemetery where the ceremony took place had hundreds of candles for the occasion and was actually quite beautiful.
I am very glad that I was able to attend an event unique to Finland. But, I must say that I am looking forward to Canada Day...the weather will be much warmer (hopefully)!
Christmas decorations in the city centre as seen while on the parade route.
At the cemetery during the ceremony.
A flag in the city centre. The Finnish flag is only displayed on special occasions.
