Finnish people have some unique traditions. Here are 7 surprising facts about the world’s happiest country.

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Finnish people have some unique traditions. Here are 7 surprising facts about the world’s happiest country.

The country benefits from high levels of social trust and a strong connection with nature.

Finnish culture also has several unusual traditions and social norms.

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for being the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report, but there’s a lot more to the Nordic nation than its residents’ satisfaction.

The

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country is around the size of New Mexico but only a little over 5.5 million people

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there — around 3 million less than New York City.

Finns endure harsh winters,

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, and can be a bit pessimistic. Finland is also packed with saunas and has a strong ******** state. Several unusual traditions and social norms contribute to the country’s culture.

Here are seven

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about the country.

1. Speeding tickets are based on your income.

A speed limit sign in Finland.Alexander Farnsworth/Getty Images

In Finland, a resident’s wealth plays a factor in how much they’ll pay for driving too fast.

The country’s “day fine” system is based on the offender’s daily disposable income and how far

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they were going.

The system has led to some eye-popping fines. In 2023, a Finnish multimillionaire received a fine of €121,000, or $129,400, for speeding.

2. There’s around half a sauna per person.

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You’ll find saunas all over Finland.credit should read SAM KINGSLEY/AFP via Getty Images

There are an estimated 3 million saunas in Finland, per

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— or the equivalent of just over half a sauna per Finn.

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is an important part of Finnish daily life and the country’s heritage. There are ancient versions dating back to the Stone Age.

Today, you can find saunas in apartment blocks, homes, restaurants, and even government buildings.

3. The Finnish government gives all new families a “baby box.”

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A Finnish baby box packed with essentials for a newborn.VESA MOILANEN/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

Finland’s government sends a maternity package — known as äitiyspakkaus, or a “baby box,” — to the parents of newborn children.

The box contains essential items such as clothing, bibs, diapers, and bathing products, among other things. The box is fitted with a small mattress and a sheet, though some health experts have

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it may not be a safe place for babies to sleep.

The concept has become popular in

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. In 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services started a pilot program to

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kits to new parents in a handful of states.

4. The country is home to a sport called “wife-carrying.”

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A team competes during the 2019 Wife Carrying World Championships in Sonkajarvi, Finland.Lehtikuva / Timo Hartikainen via Reuters

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is now an international sport, but the world championships are still held in Sonkajärvi, Finland.

In the 1990s, when the event debuted, a male partner would traditionally carry his wife while navigating an obstacle course. The rules have evolved slightly over the years, and competitors don’t have to carry their real spouses. They just need a teammate who

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the age and weight requirements

The course is about 830 feet long and involves fences and a pond that the teams have to splash through. Past winners have claimed victory by completing the race in about a minute.

5. Finns have a word for staying in and drinking in your underwear.

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A man looks at beer in a Helsinki supermarket, perhaps contemplating spending an evening devoted to Kalsarikänni.Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa/via Reuters

“

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” translates to drinking at home in your underwear, or, “pantsdrunk,” if you prefer,

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reported in 2020.

Other Finnish words include “vahingonilo,” which means to enjoy someone else’s misfortune, and “sisu,” which is a kind of stoic determination or

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.

6. Heavy metal fans are spoiled for choice.

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Lost Society is one of Finland’s many metal bands.Miikka Skaffari/Redferns via Getty Images

According to some estimates, Finland has over 50

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bands per 100,000 people, the largest number per capita of any country in the world.

In 2016, former president Barack Obama

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the Finns’ musical preferences a shout-out during a Nordic summit, saying he was unsure if there was a correlation between the number of heavy metal bands and the country’s reputation for good governance.

While many people assume the long, cold winters fuel Finland’s appetite for the aggressive yet often technically proficient style, Antti “Hyrde” Hyyrynen, singer and guitarist of the Finnish band Stam1na, told

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in 2018 that was a cliché. Instead, he said that all students study music in school, creating a vast talent pool.

7. A popular candy is really, really salty.

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Salmiakki is bitter and salty, not sweet.Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Lots of people in Nordic countries enjoy salty licorice, but many consider salmiakki, the Finnish variety, to have the most extreme flavor.

It’s a mix of ****** licorice and ammonium chloride that pharmacies originally sold as a cough medicine. When a

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reporter bought a package from a Stockholm shop, the owner warned that it wasn’t just strong but “Finnish strong.” The taste was “horrible, painful, and completely unpleasant,” but she finished the whole bag.

Finland loves candy in general — it ranked fifth in consumption per capita in a 2017 study — and salmiakki is “sort of the national candy,” Jukka Annala, the founder and president of the Finnish Salty Licorice Association, told

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in 2018.

People have described the tongue-tingling taste as bitter, briny, and intense. Sisu, that emphasis on resiliency, might be the reason so many Finns like it, Annala told

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in 2021.

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#Finnish #people #unique #traditions #surprising #facts #worlds #happiest #country

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