Get to know your Finnish hosts

Identity● Strong sense of national identity

● Finns don´t expect you to know a lot about Finland

● Finns want to know your opinion about their country

Religion● Most Finns belong to the

Evangelical-Lutheran Church

● It is difficult to observe differences between believers and everyone else

● Christening, confirmation, wedding and funeral are the most visible religious parts in Finland

● There are female priests in the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland

Conversing● Finns are pretty recerved

and words are taken seriously

● Finns rarely enter into conversation with a stranger

● Finns are not good at small talk

● When you get to know each other you can talk about anything

Mobile phones● Finns use cellphones a lot

● In some places, like aeroplanes, hospitals and theatres, phones must be turned off.

Languages● Finland is a bilingual country

● A Finn´s mother tongue is either Finnish, Swedish or Saami

● English is widely spoken in Finland

Names and greeting

● When introducing themselves, Finns will say their forename followed by their surname

● Offical titles are rarely mentioned when introducing

● When greeting, Finns shake hands and make eye contact

● Kisses and hugs are not common

Eating and drinking

● Fnns have breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening meal

● Coffee is drunk all day

● Finns drink alcohol pretty much. However, for example wine is usually drunk on formal meals

● The state controls alcohol selling and consuming (Alko)

● We have four seasons

● In winter we focus more on business and school and summer is the time for holidays

● Finnish people are exact with time; being late is considered impolite

Time and seasons

Festivals● Festivals celebrated in Finland: Christmas,

independence day, May day, Shrove Tuesday, Midsummer and Easter

Summer cottages and sauna

● Most Finns have their own summer cottage where they spend time in summer

● Almost everyone has a sauna in their home and it is used a few times a week