Finland
*Finland's Greatest* Editor - Christian Nguyen
Finland in Europe
Finland is 62.4302° N, 24.7271° E
Neighboring Countries are Norway, Sweden, and Russia
Physical Map of Finland
The terrain of Finland rises into the hills and low mountains. People live in Finland because of the long winters, beautiful landscape, and the northern lights.
Major Cities in Finland
The capital and largest city in Finland is Helsinki.
Traveling in Finland
Finland is a cold country so if your always in the heat, this place might not be the best one for you. The shortest day in Finland was 6 hours long!
Government and Foreign Policy
Finland is a republic with a representative democracy. Finland is a limited government, so don't be so worried about being controlled. Representative Democracy is one of many democracies, that have elected officials representing a group of people. The parliament is the law making branch in Finland and takes good time to decide how the country works. The U.S. has a congress law making branch, which also takes time in making the laws, going through 3 branches of the congress. Sauli Niinisto is the current leader in Finland.
Economy
Right now in Finland, our currency is called euro. 1 dollar in the U.S. is 1.11 euros in Finland. Finland is a heavy export and importer, normally on the borders of Norway, Sweden and the Estonian Sea. A lot of this makes them the 43rd largest exporter, and 42nd largest importer. Finland's GDP per capita is 49.146.65 USD.
Social and Ethnics
In Finland, Ethnic Groups are Finland, Swedes, and Russians. People in Finland must have equal access in the school field, even if they speak a different language, are a different race, or different age. There have been wars due to difference in ethnicity.
Culture
Most people in Finland belong to the church. There are 2 churches that are major in Finland. The Lutheran Church of Finland, and the Orthodox Church. Those who are participants in one of these churches, pay taxes to them. Most languages Finland speaks, are Finnish, and Sweden.
Flag
The white background stands for the white snow that covers the lands in winter, and the blue represents the lakes and the skies. On the white background is a Nordic cross, which stands for Christianity.
Traditions
The Finnish Christmas, or Joulu, is quite similar to our Christmas. We have Christmas trees, we have advent calendars. We celebrate this holiday on December 23rd and eat traditional meals on Christmas day.
Christmas Trees
Used to celebrate winter festivals.
Traditional Food
Baked ham is good with homemade mustard.
Advent Calendar
Advent means, " the coming of. " In this case, the coming of Jesus