Welcome to Finland!

1. Welcome to Finland!

2. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic countrysituated in Northern Europe.

3. Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe. It has borders with SWEDEN to the west, RUSSIAR to the east, and NORWAY to the north.

4. The total area of the country is about 338 000 square kilometers. The south and west coasts of Finland are washed by the Baltic Sea. Finland is a country of forests, islands and lakes.

5. Finland - republic. Theexecutive authority in the country belongs to the president. The president is selected on six-year term by direct national voting.The executive authority in the country is carried out by the government which consists of the prime minister and necessary number of ministers.

6. The state organisation is divided into • six administrative provinces: • Southern Finland • Western Finland • Eastern Finland • Oulu • Lapland • Åland • Finland is a small country • but with great history and wonderful people.

7. 5,219,732 people live in Finland. There are three different groups of people, the Finn, the Swede and the Sami. Each of them has its own language and culture. Most of the people speak Finnish as their mother tongue. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority.All Finnish children have to learn both Swedish and Finnish at school.

8. 8 000 Sami Lapps live in Finland. They have their own language, history and culture. They keep their old traditions all the time.

9. The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern part of the country. The biggest and the most important cities in Finland are Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo . But lots of Finns prefer to live in the suburbs of Helsinki in small wooden houses.

10. Helsinki! Helsinki is the capital of Finland. It is the seat of the government, a great business and cultural centre.

11. Helsinki is like the Russian town St. Petersburg. It is a historical centre of the country. There are many places of interest in Helsinki. The largest and the best theatres, museums, cinemas, hotels, restaurants are situated here.

12. There are many beautiful monuments and statues in the capital of Finland. For example, the statue of Emperor Alexander II of Russia.

13. Suomenlinna is one of the greatest Sea Fortress in the world. It is the peace of Finish history.

14. Helsinki is famous for its beautiful fountains and parks.

15. LINNANMAKI AMUSEMENT PARK The Linnanmaki park is the oldest amusement park in Finland. More than one million visitors enjoy this beautiful park on the top of the hill every year. There are plenty of rides, both brand new and popular oldies.

16. The geographical position of Finland is between 60th and 70th northern parallels. It is a snows zone. The climate in Finland is northern. There are cold winters and warm summers here. You can see north night and north light here. Climate

17. Finish summers are usually short with strong winds. The north regions of the Arctic Circle are characterized by 'polar days', when the sun does not set at all.

18. Winter is the longest season, lasting for about 100 days in the southwestern part of Finland and 200 days in Lapland. The north regions of the Arctic Circle are characterized by 'polar night', when thesun does not rise above the horizon at all. The polar night lasts for 51 days.

19. North radiance is the nature’s most beautiful light show. This phenomenon is also known as the Northern Lights. In Lapland it is possible to see the Northern Lights nearly every evening. It is a colorful light phenomenon.

20. Nature There are different species of plants and animals in Finland. The number of species in Finland is not large but very impressive.Most of the plants and animals are well adapted to the contrasting seasons and extreme cold weather.

21. Wild animals Finland is one of the countries where it is possible to meet different kinds of wild animals. In the north of the countrythere are a lot of Gray wolves who hunt on deer herds. You can see such animals as Lynx and Brown bears, Arctic foxes and beautiful Sealsin the lakes.

22. The most common animal is reindeer. There are about 200 000 reindeers in Finland.

23. There are 350 species of birds, most of them migratory. Original species include the rough-legged buzzard, the golden plover, the snow bunting, the willow grouse and the Siberian jay.

24. More than 70 species of fish swim in the rich waters of the Finland. The most important is the red-fleshed salmon. The salmon is a migratory fish, which is born in a river, migrates to the sea and in late autumn returns to its native waters to spawn.

25. People call Finland «The land of lakes and hills». There are 187 888 lakes and 179 584 islands. Saimaa is the largest lake. It was formed 70 million years ago. Also there are many small lakes with clear water, called “suppa”, which have been formed by the Ice Age. Aland Island is the biggest archipelago in Europe.

26. The forest is the main wealth of this country. It is called “green Finnish gold”. There is the oldest pine in Finland. It is 780 years old. There are many different kinds of forests: great old-growth forests, herb-rich forests, dry forests and others.

27. National parks in Finland are large nature conservation areas, which open for all to see and enjoy nature.

28. There are many kinds of activities in Finland. In summer people like to go fishing, canoeing and boating, hiking, Nordic walking, mountain biking, birdwatching, gold panning.

29. In winter they like to cross-country skiing, slalom and snowboarding, skating,kick-sledding,tobogganing,reindeer-, curling, husky- and snowmobile safaris, ice carting, snow carting.

30. Christmas. Christmas is a family holiday. In October in all cities people buy decorations for Christmas tree. Finns put great Christmas tree on Senate square in Helsinki and all the children can decorate it. Finns prefer to celebrate the «Great night» at home.

31. Finnish Santa Claus lives in Lapland. His name is Joulupukki.

32. Joulupukki receives letters from the children. Lady Santa, reindeers and the elves help him.

33. Simo day. «Simo builds bridges». It is a holyday which Finns celebrate on the 28th of October. On this day lakes and rivers are covered with ice. In cities people make skating rings, make concerts and fireworks.

34. Easter. Finns celebrate Easter too. Preparation begins in the evening «Clear Thursday». On «Clear Thursday» all people buy things for holiday, bake Easter cake and paint eggs. Many Finns prefer to spend Easter in the country.

35. Father's Day in Finland. Father's Day in Finland has been celebrated since 1970 year. On this day children prepare presents for fathers and congratulate them. But since 1979 on this day flags are lifted all over the country, because Finns are proud of their fathers.

36. Mother's Day in Finland. Mother's Day has been celebrated in Finland since 1918. It is on the second Sunday of May. Women get presents from their children on this Day. Women are usually presented with flowers and cards, made by their children. All children thank their mothers on this day.

37. «Fish fair» The true fans of this fish live in Finland. Every year at the beginner of October all fans of herring go to the «Fish fair» in Helsinki. It is a famous festival in Finland. Kauppatori or Fish Market in Helsinki.

38. A Mommy world. Mommy is a famous Finish character. Children like fairytales about him all over the world! Finnish writer Tuve Yanson wrote many books about Mommy.There is a Mommy world in Finland.It is a home of Mommy’s Family. You can see houses of fantastic heroes of Finnish tales.

39. Finland is very beautiful country!

40. Welcome to Finland!