Post by pershainovitsh on Dec 5, 2012 18:02:42 GMT 1
As everyone surely knows, Finland gained independence from Russia 6th of December 1917. Before Russia conquered Finland, we were living under the flag of the Swedish empire.
That means we'll be independent for the 95th year tomorrow, unless we get conquered overnight.
Unlike in United States, we don't play with fireworks but instead hole up in our homes and watch TV. But not just any programs: "Party at the palace" (translation sounds stupider than it is) where people invited by the president, Sauli Niinistö, gather at the presidential palace in Helsinki to celebrate our independence. The guests get in a line with their wives/husbands and shake hands with the president and his wife, Jenni Haukio, and get a very short time to say something to the president and his couple . After this they dance, and all this is filmed and broadcasted live. On TV there are commentators who say the names of the people shaking hands at the moment and maybe comment on what they are wearing. As you can imagine, there's the same amount of action as in watching grass grow. I have never bothered to watch more than 15 minutes of it.
Another tradition is watching "Tuntematon sotilas" (The Unknown Soldier), a movie, based on a novel, about the Continuation War, which went on from 1941 to 1944. Some trivia: Winter War was fought in 1939-1940, lasting about 100 days. And guess what, Continuation War continues that war! It was actually a part of Operation Barbarossa where Germany launched a massive attack towards Soviet Union with its allies, including Finland. That's where we tried to reclaim our lost areas in Eastern Finland. It didn't work very well for Finland nor Germany, but we did get to keep our independence, unlike many countries in Europe, like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
Interestingly, The Unknown Soldier is not actually all that propriate to play on Independence Day. Of course thanks to the effort of our soldiers in WWII we got to keep our independence, but it was the Civil War that got us that independence.
There has been some dissatisfaction with the translation of The Unknown Solider, but fear not, my English-speaking friends, a new translation is on the way and will be a part of the Penguin Classics collection. It's a very good novel, so I ask you to wait for the new translation patiently and buy it when it's finished.
Even though the movie version (the 1955 version, to be precise. Should be better than the new one) has been shown every Independence Day for over ten years, now some department of absurd decisions decided that it can't be shown before 17:00 (5pm) because it's rated 12+. Oh man, where should I begin? Why did the problem arouse after ten years of living in harmony and watching the classic film? Can't the parents deny their children from watching this harmful material? Don't they see much worse stuff in the news and on video games? What kind of a difference does it make to show it three hours later than usual? Are kids sleeping after 5pm? Nope, they are watching children's programs, but not this time because daddy's favourite movie is on at the same time. The live broadcast from The Presidential Palace starts about two hours after the start of The Unknown Soldier, so you can't watch them both live, because the movie lasts three hours. I really don't understand the reasoning behind this. I'll still watch it, as usual.
That means we'll be independent for the 95th year tomorrow, unless we get conquered overnight.
Unlike in United States, we don't play with fireworks but instead hole up in our homes and watch TV. But not just any programs: "Party at the palace" (translation sounds stupider than it is) where people invited by the president, Sauli Niinistö, gather at the presidential palace in Helsinki to celebrate our independence. The guests get in a line with their wives/husbands and shake hands with the president and his wife, Jenni Haukio, and get a very short time to say something to the president and his couple . After this they dance, and all this is filmed and broadcasted live. On TV there are commentators who say the names of the people shaking hands at the moment and maybe comment on what they are wearing. As you can imagine, there's the same amount of action as in watching grass grow. I have never bothered to watch more than 15 minutes of it.
Another tradition is watching "Tuntematon sotilas" (The Unknown Soldier), a movie, based on a novel, about the Continuation War, which went on from 1941 to 1944. Some trivia: Winter War was fought in 1939-1940, lasting about 100 days. And guess what, Continuation War continues that war! It was actually a part of Operation Barbarossa where Germany launched a massive attack towards Soviet Union with its allies, including Finland. That's where we tried to reclaim our lost areas in Eastern Finland. It didn't work very well for Finland nor Germany, but we did get to keep our independence, unlike many countries in Europe, like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
Interestingly, The Unknown Soldier is not actually all that propriate to play on Independence Day. Of course thanks to the effort of our soldiers in WWII we got to keep our independence, but it was the Civil War that got us that independence.
There has been some dissatisfaction with the translation of The Unknown Solider, but fear not, my English-speaking friends, a new translation is on the way and will be a part of the Penguin Classics collection. It's a very good novel, so I ask you to wait for the new translation patiently and buy it when it's finished.
Even though the movie version (the 1955 version, to be precise. Should be better than the new one) has been shown every Independence Day for over ten years, now some department of absurd decisions decided that it can't be shown before 17:00 (5pm) because it's rated 12+. Oh man, where should I begin? Why did the problem arouse after ten years of living in harmony and watching the classic film? Can't the parents deny their children from watching this harmful material? Don't they see much worse stuff in the news and on video games? What kind of a difference does it make to show it three hours later than usual? Are kids sleeping after 5pm? Nope, they are watching children's programs, but not this time because daddy's favourite movie is on at the same time. The live broadcast from The Presidential Palace starts about two hours after the start of The Unknown Soldier, so you can't watch them both live, because the movie lasts three hours. I really don't understand the reasoning behind this. I'll still watch it, as usual.
