LOCATION

Helsinki

Uspenski CathedralNational Museum of Finland

Kiasma Art Museum

FINLAND CURRENCY

Facts about FinlandArea: 338 424 km2

Population: 5,389 million people (2011)

Government: Parliamentary Republic

Capital: Helsinki

Official languages: Finnish, Swedish

National Anthem: Maamme (Finnish), Vart Land (Swedish)

Tarja Halonen

Jyrki Katainen

Prehistory The area was settled

8500 BCE (Stone Age) First people were

hunter-gatherers Used stone tools The first verifiable

written documents appeared in the 12th century.

Astuvansalmi rock paintings at Saimaa (3000 – 2500 BC)

The 20th century

December 6, 1917 Finland got independence

Civil war 1918 First president Kaarlo Juho

Stahlberg 1920 Finnish-Russian border is

formed by the treaty of Tartu 1939 – 1940 Winter War 1941 – 1942 World War II 1944 – 1945 Lapland War 1950 - around 1977 Cold War Urho Kekkonen

(3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986 )

Recent History

Late 1980s Finland liberalized economy

1999 Finland joined Eurozone

2002 euro becomes the currency (before that it was Finnish Markka)

Linus Torvalds

Social Etiquette

Bring flowers , chocolates or wine when invited to a finish home

Flowers should not be given in even numbers

Avoid giving potted plants Avoid giving whit or yellow flowers

as they are associated with funerals.

Gifts are opened when received.

Finnish Meeting Etiquette

•Greetings are formal, with a firm handshake, direct eye contact and a smile•It is common practice to repeat your first surname while shaking hands•When greeting a married couple, the wife should be greeted first

Business Etiquette Finns often build or

maintain business relationship in a restaurant or the sauna

Never reject an invitation to use the sauna

It is an appreciated part of the Finnish culture

Appointments are necessary

Business Etiquette

. The basic business style is formal - i.e. there is relatively little small talk and Finns prefer people to speak succinctly and to focus purely on business.

Finns do not require face-to- face contact and, in fact, are quite comfortable using e- mail.

Finns are excellent time managers who prefer to organize their workday in order to accomplish as much as possible.

Finns are interested in long- term relationships.

Relationship building often takes place outside the office: in a restaurant or the sauna.

Never turn down an invitation to use the sauna, as it is an entrenched part of the Finnish culture.

Finns place a great value on speaking plainly and openly.

What someone says is accepted at face value and this is a culture where "a man's word is his bond" and will be treated as seriously as a written contract, so verbal commitments are considered agreements.

Table Manners•Wait to be told where to sit•Hold the fork in the left hand and knife in right while eating•Always keep your hand visible when eating•Do not begin eating until the hostess invites you to start•Finish everything on your plate . Finns do not appreciate waste.

What is Finland famous for? Nokia phones Sauna “Black candies” Snow and cold Santa Claus Reindeers Ice Hockey

Music Heavy Metal =

mainstream!!!! Festivals: Tuska, Sauna open

Air, Sonisphere, Ruisrock, Provinssirock, Pori Jazz, Savonlinna Ooppera, Kaustinen Folk Music

LANGUAGES IN FINLAND

Finnish -93% Swedish -6% Sami – 0.3% Other -0.7%

Climate 0f finland

Finland has a humid and cool semi-continental climate

Winters of southern Finland are usually 4 months long, and the snow typically covers the land

Ethnic make-up

•Finn- 93%•Swede-6%•Russian -0.5%•Estonian -0.3%•Roma -0.1%•Sami -0.1%

RELIGIONS Finland religiosity (2011) Lutheranism 77.3% No religion  20.1% Orthodoxy   1.1%   Islam 1% Others  0.5%

Culture Finns value being close to

nature, the agricultural roots are embedded in the rural lifestyle

The traditions were partly indigenous, but also influenced by Norse paganism. Song magic and bear worship are distinctive marks of the ancient religion

nuclear family, rather than the extended family

Finska folkdancer

THANK

YOU