Santa Claus…

…wearing a grey outfit from the 1930’s.

I asked Mr. Claus about the costume and he said that it is from the time before the red Coca Cola Santas arrived to Finland.

Torchlight Procession of Independence Day…

…gathered a large number of university students to the streets of Helsinki today.

Read more about the independence day tradition from the Student Union of the University of Helsinki.

Mannerheim Cross…

…is the highest military honor in Finland. It’s not possible to get one anymore – and hopefully there is no need to create a new medal for the same purpose.

Today one of the highest honors in Finland is to get an invitation to the televised president’s independence day party on 6th December. All Knights of Mannerheim Cross are invited and they are the very first ones to arrive and shake hands with the president. Last year only three of them were alive and only one fit enough to attend.

Foreigners occasionally notice that swastikas are still sometimes used in Finland. They are not Nazi symbols. Finnish military adopted the symbol from a Swede Eric von Rosen who donated an airplane for Finland in 1918.

Read more about the Mannerheim cross from wikipedia.

A Nation is in Danger…

…YOU can help [Finland]. The 1939 poster from Sweden was photographed at the National Museum.

Fortunately the danger is over and it is the 70th anniversary of the start of Winter War. Soviet Union’s (population >100 million) attack against Finland (4) is the historical event of independent Finland.

This time David didn’t beat Goliath but both were severely hurt physically and mentally. Finland was able to cause so much damage to the attacker that about three months later Soviet Union was willing to make a peace although they were far away from reaching their original objectives.

Winter War has a similar status in Finnish minds as Gallipoli has in Australia and New Zealand. For the Finns it wasn’t just the baptism of fire of a young nation: today 83% of Finns believe that Finland would have lost its independence without the heavy sacrifices of Winter War.

See my earlier Winter War entries

• Shelling of Mainila (Mainilan laukaukset)
• End of Winter War – Independence Saved

Shelling of Mainila (Mainilan laukaukset)…

…was Soviet Union’s staged excuse to attack Finland in November 1939. Soviets claimed that Finland was responsible of the shelling of their village. The following three months of Winter War (see my entry) were the most crucial moments in the history of independent Finland.

Later Soviet and Russian leaders and historians have admitted that the shots didn’t come from Finland. Today is the 70th anniversary of the incident that is still referenced quite often. Less importantly this blog also reached the 500th post milestone today.

The photo is from this summer from a cannon demonstration at Suomenlinna sea fortress. To get the perfect timing, I used something that some purists might consider cheating – but not staging.

More about the Shelling of Mainila

• Wikipedia
• Discussion at Axis history forum
• YLE: Finland Marks the 70th Anniversary of Shelling of Mainila

Our Land is Poor…

…and it will remain poor. You foreigners might not believe this but that sentence is actually from the Finnish national anthem.

In the photo is the bottom half of the memorial of J.L Runeberg who made the lyrics for the national anthem – in Swedish for a song that was “composed” by a German (see my entry). Estonians also use the same melody.

No wonder there are people who think that Finlandia Hymn by national composer Jean Sibelius should be our national anthem. But that has already been used by the short-lived Republic of Biafra that is today part of Nigeria.

The Oldest Stone Building in Downtown Helsinki…

…is Sederholm house from 1757.

That’s pretty young but Helsinki isn’t that old either. The Swedes founded it first in 1550 and moved it to a more favourable location in 1640.

And Helsinki didn’t become the capital until 1812 when Russians wanted their newly acquired Grand Duchy to have the capital closer to St. Petersburg and not so close to Stockholm.

20 Years Without The Berlin Wall…

…although only moments before the fall it felt like it’s going to outlive the Great Wall of China. THE historical event of my lifetime.

The fall of the iron curtain didn’t just completely change Europe but it ended many bloody conflicts that were supported by the cold war superpowers on several continents. There was no longer imminent threat of global nuclear war although the weapons still existed.

I can’t understand people who say that we now live dangerous times. We have our dangers but still terrorists or our current diseases are nothing compared to what one bad decision by a US or Soviet leader might have caused during the cold war.

It was a miracle that Soviet Union was not able to occupy Finland during WW II. It’s scary to think what my life might have been on the other side of the iron curtain if things would have went according to Stalin’s plans.

The wall in the photo is from Suvilahti.

Here are some Berlin Wall entries from the City Daily Photo blog community’s German members:

• Heidelberg
• Leipzig
• Düsseldorf

The author of Paris Daily Photo was in Berlin exactly 20 years ago and has included photos in his entry.

F-18 Hornet, The Most Discussed…

…military purchase in Finland. First planes were received in 1995 and many would have wanted to use the money for something else than for about 60 jet fighters. On the other hand, 60 doesn’t sound much for a country that doesn’t belong to any military alliance.

The symbolic significance was also big as American planes might not have been bought at a time when Finland’s eastern neighbour was still called Soviet Union. Many saw the purchase as a concrete step towards Finland’s NATO membership.

The photo was taken in Helsinki International Airshow and the pilot has just fired flares that are used to distract missiles.

University Students’Houses…

…at the “outskirts of the city center.” That was true in 1870 but today this is as central as it can get in Helsinki. This lucky chance means that the Student Union of the University of Helsinki owns many very valuable buildings and is now one of the richest student bodies in the world.

The building on the right is Vanha (=old) from 1870 and the building with a green dome is the new student house from 1910. University students organize many kinds of activities in these buildings and there are restaurants and events that anybody can visit.