this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2024
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Observances & Holidays ๐ŸŽ‰

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/32844100

Finnish independence day ritual - the shaking of hands.

Picture of a widely shared ritual in modern Finland: people gathering to family homes on Finlands independence day December 6, to watch in TV how our president and his/her's spouse shake hands with all the people invited to their official independence day party.

It takes about 2-4 hours, people drink and eat while discussing the outfits and persons shaking hands.

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[โ€“] Infynis@midwest.social 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Finland wasn't always independent? Were they part of the Soviet Union?

[โ€“] m_f@midwest.social 2 points 6 months ago

Yeah, there's some history there:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_of_Finland

Most recently Russia, pre-USSR, but also the Swedes were kind of dicks back in the day. I've heard that to this day, speaking Swedish in a Finnish bar might get you ignored by the bartender.