Finland, or Suomi, is the country of the
coldness which we associate to snow, Christmas and Santa Claus. The capital of Finland is Helsinki,
a small and atmosferic city which was decorated and illuminated for Christmas
from the beginning of December. It is a wonderful experience seeing all the lights on December, also the darkest
day , when Santa Lucia is celebrated. A teenager who represents the light that the cold and
dark winter needs is chosen. The celebration takes place in the Lutheran
Cathedral and this "Lucia"
,carrying a crown with candles and who
will walk around the city with the rest of the candidates. It is a nice and
amusing spectacle, which I recommend.
Helsinki has more interesting places to visit such as the Orthodox Cathedral,
the Parliament, the Art Gallery, the
harbour ,the beach, the Church excavated in a rock, the temple for all
religions... and the Island of Suommelina.
This Island has been of great importance for
the Finnish. It was a place which was used as a fort against the Russians,
the Germans...There you can visit the
church, the caves and even have lunch or a coffee in a restaurant! It is where
the Finnish go to spend their frre time at weekends when the weather is
good.You get there by a boat which sails if there isn't snow.
And ,of
course, what everybody knows, the real and unique Santa Claus is Finnish and
lives in Laponia. Not knowing exactly where, the best thing is to visit him in
his office in Rovaniemi.
The Finnish
Laponia is the place to find the wonders of the summer. The contrasts between
the white nights and the dark winter days are impressive with its aurora
borealis... The nature, the cities and the ski resorts are close so you can
enjoy all of them almost at the same time.
In Finland,the Sami population is of aproximately 6,000
people and the preservation of their
endangered language and culture
and they are ruled by an autonomic parliament of Inari.
Alejandra Ferrín.
