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Im doing a report on your country and I need some help. I need to know if Finland as a national bird, flower, and/or tree. thanks in advance

Yes.

What Google cannot find ...

First page link.

(btw. Virtual Finland is a good place to start anyway)

Originally posted by Hades
Im doing a report on your country and I need some help. I need to know if Finland as a national bird, flower, and/or tree. thanks in advance

Off course I will try to help, it's nice when somebody from the other side of the world takes interest in our country. Or maybe you didn't have any choise). Anyway, follow Macs link and you'll find the ones you where asking for. I will list a few you won't find in the books.

National vegetable: sausage, preferably grilled over open fire

National spirits: Koskekorva, preferably pocket warm, straight from the bottle.

National sport: pesapallo, a finnish version of baseball (the main difference is that the pitcher and the batter stand side by side and the ball is thrown straight up over the plate).

National complex: inferiority complex. As a young nation a history of hundred of years under the swedish crown has left us Finns with feeling of inferiority, especially in comparison with the Swedes. Some feel that the complex was cured when we won over the Swedes in the 1995 ishockey world championship finals, but the fact that we still, eight years later, talk about this victory shows that nothing has changed.

National favorite team: The Lions, the finnish national hockey team.

National living legend: General Adolf Ehrnrooth. Last one alive of the regimental commanders from WWII. At the age of well over 90, the old warhero has now retired from public, but only a few years ago we could still lisen to his warstories at the president's independence day receiptions.

National shame: the fate of the Estonian volunteers who fought in the finnish armed forces during the second world war. After the war the volunteers, most of whom had fought in the first line troops for many years, where handed over to the Sovjetunion. Only now, ower 50 years later, have they received some help and recognition from the finnish government. A sign on how sore point this is to us Finns, is the fact that I couldn't find any finnish webpages about the Estonian volunteers (volunteers from other countries are quite well represented).

National pride: high tech, as small country Finland can't win in mass production and during the last few years we've succeded quite well in the technology competition.

A could go on for some time with the list. Please ask if you need something specific. May I ask what kind of report you are working on?

I have a bad habit of mixing humor with serious matters, but I think you realize which points are more jokes than facts. Remember though, that there is allways some truth in jokes, at least in the good ones.

Nyrkki

thanks for geting this stuff to me its been a real help doing this project has really caused me to like Finland and maybe just maybe Ill come visit it sometime.

You forgot that Finn and Canada are the world's per population highest cell phone using countries

Hades, if you're in need of general info about our Brothers in the east, have a look at the

CIA World Factbook entry on Finland.

Originally posted by Hades
thanks for geting this stuff to me its been a real help doing this project has really caused me to like Finland and maybe just maybe Ill come visit it sometime.

Welcome!

If you do have the opportunity to visit Finland, make sure that you visit this place:

http://www.panssarikilta.fi/Museo/

Nyrkki

Originally posted by Nyrkki
Off course I will try to help, it's nice when somebody from the other side of the world takes interest in our country. Or maybe you didn't have any choise). Anyway, follow Macs link and you'll find the ones you where asking for. I will list a few you won't find in the books.

National vegetable: sausage, preferably grilled over open fire

National spirits: Koskekorva, preferably pocket warm, straight from the bottle.

National sport: pesapallo, a finnish version of baseball (the main difference is that the pitcher and the batter stand side by side and the ball is thrown straight up over the plate).

National complex: inferiority complex. As a young nation a history of hundred of years under the swedish crown has left us Finns with feeling of inferiority, especially in comparison with the Swedes. Some feel that the complex was cured when we won over the Swedes in the 1995 ishockey world championship finals, but the fact that we still, eight years later, talk about this victory shows that nothing has changed.

National favorite team: The Lions, the finnish national hockey team.

National living legend: General Adolf Ehrnrooth. Last one alive of the regimental commanders from WWII. At the age of well over 90, the old warhero has now retired from public, but only a few years ago we could still lisen to his warstories at the president's independence day receiptions.

National shame: the fate of the Estonian volunteers who fought in the finnish armed forces during the second world war. After the war the volunteers, most of whom had fought in the first line troops for many years, where handed over to the Sovjetunion. Only now, ower 50 years later, have they received some help and recognition from the finnish government. A sign on how sore point this is to us Finns, is the fact that I couldn't find any finnish webpages about the Estonian volunteers (volunteers from other countries are quite well represented).

National pride: high tech, as small country Finland can't win in mass production and during the last few years we've succeded quite well in the technology competition.

A could go on for some time with the list. Please ask if you need something specific. May I ask what kind of report you are working on?

I have a bad habit of mixing humor with serious matters, but I think you realize which points are more jokes than facts. Remember though, that there is allways some truth in jokes, at least in the good ones.

Nyrkki

LOL:D
Actually these all are real truths:D
You forgot one important thing called Santa Claus, most part of the people don't know that he's actually living here in Finland...Some peoples think that he's from Greenland or North Pole, but that's not true.


Hades:
Our national bird is a Swan IIRC:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1
You forgot that Finn and Canada are the world's per population highest cell phone using countries

I think that Australia is ranked up there as well Les, be nice to see some figures on it.

Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1
You forgot that Finn and Canada are the world's per population highest cell phone using countries

Sweden is higher on that list than Canada:D

I read somewhere that Finland was the only European country to pay back it's debt to the United States after WWII, which should be a point of pride.

Also, the excellence the Finnish Army displayed in the Winter War and in WWII is something to be proud of.

Thanks again for all the help. I turned in my project today. It came out to 78 pages, im sure i could of written alot more but I didnt want to overwhelm my teacher:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Snigbert
I read somewhere that Finland was the only European country to pay back it's debt to the United States after WWII, which should be a point of pride.

Also, the excellence the Finnish Army displayed in the Winter War and in WWII is something to be proud of.

I think you got it a bit wrong. You see, USA and Finland were on opposing sides during WWII, so I don't think that USA had much interest in financing the Finnish war machinery.

According to the peace treaty of Paris, Finland had to pay heavy war preparations to the Sovjetunion, which were payed up to the last markka. A part of the war preparations was to be payed in different kinds of industrial products. So Finland had to build up its industrial capacity quite fast after the war. Maybe USA was one of the sponsors at that time.

Nyrkki

Nyrkki, slept during history lessons?

During Winter war US gave quite substantial loans to Finland, the money was used in buying weapons and other material from US. For example Brewster fighters and artillery.

These loans were paid back in full and afaik very fast after the end of the WW2

Voriax

Yes, I think it was a sort of pre-WWII lend lease sort of thing.

Anyway, most of the 'wealthier' European countries we supplied arms to just asked us to cancel the debts for them and we agreed eventually... Funny how the US and some of those same European countries wouldn't cancel debts for some of the economically struggling 3rd World countries now though.

Originally posted by Voriax
These loans were paid back in full and afaik very fast after the end of the WW2

They were paid already after the Winter War.

Originally posted by Voriax
Nyrkki, slept during history lessons?

During Winter war US gave quite substantial loans to Finland, the money was used in buying weapons and other material from US. For example Brewster fighters and artillery.

These loans were paid back in full and afaik very fast after the end of the WW2

Voriax

Yes, I used to do that a lot, but never during history lessons. You are correct about the loan thoughs, should have checked before I mailed.

Are any of you chaps going to Lithuania for the Multinational Brigade Ex in June?

Originally posted by Voriax
During Winter war US gave quite substantial loans to Finland, the money was used in buying weapons and other material from US. For example Brewster fighters and artillery.
Voriax

Come on now, IIRC it took a painfully long time before the US even reached to the decision (debate in Senate?) to lend money to Finland. And when the first loan(s ?) was granted, it had stipulations that the money can't be used to weapon procurement.

The Finns then used the money to buy grain (IIRC), which in turn was sold to UK, and the money got from UK was spent on weapons.


Can't remember at the moment if the possible later loans had the above stipulation removed, but in the end the fuss and indecision on the US part meant that basicly nothing bought from the US arrived in time to have ANY impact on the Winter War.

Cheers,
Sami