# It's!



## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

It's 6th of December which means that today is the 95th Finnish independence day.
How i am gonna celebrate it?
I am gonna only listen to Sibelius today.





Notable Finnish things/people&inventions:
- Jean Sibelius
- Gustav Mannerheim
- Simo Häyhä
- Nokia
- Angry birds
- Finland has one of the best school systems.
- Finland has one of the healthcare systems.
- Sauna
- Metal music is actually mainstream here.
- Being able to defend itself against the worlds most biggest military force.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ihanaa leijonat ihanaa!



jani said:


> - Angry birds







Could be a Finnish folk song, just as the Tetris theme music is, eh? 

Don't forget all the great Finnish hockey players in the NHL too! Teemu Selanne is quite popular, or was in his prime.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

jani said:


> Notable Finnish things/people&inventions:
> - Jean Sibelius
> - Gustav Mannerheim
> - Simo Häyhä
> ...


How about Sibelius music notation software, invented by (who else?) the twins Ben and Jonathan Finn.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I don't respect many European countries, but I do respect Finland and the Scandinavians for their traditions of more moderate politics and creating societies that are more about consensus than conflict and sectarianism. In terms of independence, the Finns where lucky to be able to break away from Russia as it was 'busy' morphing into the Soviet Union. A bloody civil war ensued in Finland as well, between the whites and the reds, the whites prevailed and thus Finland became neutral from its superpower neighbour (a fate other countries sharing borders with it where not fortunate to share after WWII). But I know the Finns lost a lot of land to the Russians (eg. most of the ancient Karelia region, which is said to be the cradle of Finnish culture).

Anyway, some other famous Finns (or that I've come across in reading & yes I had to check their spelling online, Finnish language is one of the most unusual ones in that way) -

*Paavo Nurmi*, runner - Olympic gold medallist, nicknamed 'the flying Finn'

*Mika Hakkinen*, formula one driver - winner of FI races

*Alvar Aalto*, architect - Modernist architect, designed Finlandia concert hall below (not to my taste, but anyway, he was a big name in this area of building)









*Carl Ludwig Engel,* architect - of Classical period, rebuiling Helsinki after (I think?) a devastating fire. From him we got buildings such as the big cathedral in the city, a building that for many symbolises that city:









*Aksel Gallen-Kallela*, painter - painted the Kalevala legends and also the portrait of Sibelius when he looked HOT:


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

"your mountains so lofty, you treetops so tall." I can go for the tree tops, but lofty mountains? No matter, Happy independence day.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Happy Independence Day to the homeland of some of the coolest metal out there!











:cheers:


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I like Finland and have a healthy respect for the country managing to hang on to its identity and heritage despite the best efforts of Sweden and Russia in the past. From an English perspective I've always found the country slightly mysterious because it never seems to get as much publicity/media coverage as its neighbours. And that language - phew!!!

There is a whole host of racing drivers, Summer and Winter Olympians that can be added to Finland's Hall of Fame. And, for a country with such a small population (currently standing at less than 5.5 million), the amount of distinguished classical composers it has produced from Sibelius onwards is little short of staggering.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Its my understanding that Finnish language sounds like nothing else right? Although I was under the impression it was somehow related to Hungarian, is this true? And also, aren't both these languages somehow of asiatic descent? I've always found that really interesting.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

> Its my understanding that Finnish language sounds like nothing else right?


Definitely.



> Although I was under the impression it was somehow related to Hungarian, is this true?


Yes, and also to the languages of a few Russian ethnic minorities.



> And also, aren't both these languages somehow of asiatic descent?


They both belong to the Uralic language family which originates in the Ural mountains, actually on the very divide between Europe and Asia.

(I am not a Finn nor do I speak Finnish, but I find this linguistic stuff very fascinating too).


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

SiegendesLicht said:


> (I am not a Finn nor do I speak Finnish, but I find this linguistic stuff very fascinating too).


Yeah, it is almost something I wish I could study, but then I'd have to learn languages too. It seems like a massive undertaking to get a fraction of a full understanding with a subject like the history and origins of different languages.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I think Estonian is related to Finnish as well.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

elgars ghost said:


> I think Estonian is related to Finnish as well.


Seems to me (memory here) Finnish is related to Hungarian. An odd thing. (Added) Got it! The main Uralic languages are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

KenOC said:


> Seems to me (memory here) Finnish is related to Hungarian. An odd thing. (Added) Got it! The main Uralic languages are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian.


It's still a mystery today where the Finns came from. Legend has it that we're from the Huns or Mongols, but another more reasonable theory was they started out as a nomadic Ural group that had Germanic tribes move into their area and gain the common language (thus, Finns are more ethnically Germanic than Asian). But I do have proof that Finns could be related to the Mongols: the majority of Mongolian people today have a sort of birth mark on the bottom of their backs and it even is called the Mongolian Spot because it's so common. It occurs in other ethnicities, but not in my other half (Swedish). And yet, my brother has it.


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## regressivetransphobe (May 16, 2011)

Looking at young Sibelius and then old Sibelius always weirds me out. Age is gonna do THAT to me?


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

regressivetransphobe said:


> Looking at young Sibelius and then old Sibelius always weirds me out. Age is gonna do THAT to me?


If you drink too much then yes.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

Spent my December 6th with a Sinebrychoff Porter, a classic and excellent Finnish beer. Yes, a single beer... I hope to stay like "young Sibelius" as long as I can manage.


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