On December 6, Finland celebrates its independence, and Finns all over the world are always eager to start the festivities off in style. While many celebrations are held on independence days around the world, Finland is renowned for hosting a gala at the Presidential Palace to commemorate its independence from Russia in 1917.
Gaining independence was a long and strenuous process for the citizens of Finland. Many battles were fought and thousands of lives were lost. Since numerous sacrifices were made for the freedom of the nation, Finns celebrate Independence Day by hosting grand festivities, whilst paying tribute to the martyrs.
From around the 12th century to 1809, Finland was part of Sweden. However, since Sweden was weak after the war with Napoleon, it was unable to defend Finland and the Russians saw this as the perfect opportunity to take control of the country. The fight for freedom against Russia began from the moment they took over in 1809. During Russian rule, intense efforts were also made to modify the culture of Finland. Known as the ‘Russification of Finland’, these efforts received severe backlash from the Finns. It also made the Finns realize that having their own separate country was the only option left for their survival and they began to work towards attaining their independence from Russia. In 1856, the Fennoman movement was launched and the use of Finnish as the national language was promoted. The idea behind this movement was to ensure that the national identity of the Finns was not lost and their interests were brought to the forefront.
In 1917, because of the defeats faced in World War I and the Russian revolution, the czar nation had become weak. Seeing this as an opportunity, the Finns pushed for independence and created a Declaration of Independence on December 4, 1917. The Finnish parliament officially adopted the Declaration on December 6, 1917 — from then on recognized that day as the Independence Day of Finland.
