Source: Pixabay
Hiihtoloma is Finnish Winter Break - It’s Vacation Time 
The official vacation of Hiihtoloma (Skiing holiday) is nowadays officially called Talviloma (Winter Holiday or Winter Break). This Finnish equivalent for winter break was invented in 1933.
The idea of a winter break came up from the need for a break between Christmas and Easter for students. It was considered too long for students to be at school continuously for 4 months without any holidays.
Funnily, the roots of the winter break can be traced back to two locations: Kauniainen and Kouvola.
Winter break in Kouvola 
According to the Finnish Society of Sport Sciences, the origins of the winter break are linked to Kouvola. In 1926, Santeri Hirvonen, a gymnastics teacher from Kouvola, introduced the idea of a winter break. Hirvonen believed that children needed a break from sitting in the classroom. He specifically named the break as a hiihtoloma, skiing holiday.
Finnish Society of Sport Sciences tells us that there was a man called Lauri Pihkala, a prominent figure in Finnish sports, who further promoted the idea of a skiing holiday proposed by Santeri Hirvonen from Kouvola.
Winter break in Kauniainen
However, in Kauniainen, they believe that hiihtoloma was invented there. Magnus Hagelstam, the principal of Grankulla Samskola in Kauniainen, mandated a compulsory skiing day for his school in the 1910s. In Kauniainen, the principal's mandatory skiing day evolved into several free sports days in the 1920s. By 1927, the skiing holiday in Kauniainen had already extended to a full week.
Officially, secondary schools began celebrating the winter break in 1933, and primary schools followed suit a year later.
Three Different Weeks for Winter Break because of three different reasons
Nowadays Winter Break in Finland is held in three different calendar weeks. For example this year, in 2024, the southern parts of Finland have their holiday on week 8 (19 - 23 February) , Central Finland on week 9 (26 February - 1 March ) and in the Northern parts of Finland they have a holiday on week 10 (4 -8 March).
This division has been made primarily for practical reasons. All schools are closed and actually many families travel to skiing centres, making them overcrowded. Also the traffic increases between South and North Finland when masses of people travel to find their winter wonderland. Overcrowding also puts a greater strain on the infrastructure of the destination.
Weather conditions in Finland vary significantly in different regions in winter. In northern Finland, winter starts earlier and lasts longer than in southern Finland. Having the ski vacation during different weeks can ensure that all areas have enough snow and favorable conditions for winter sports and skiing.
It is worth mentioning that all towns and municipalities decide on their own Winter break dates, but it is the most common practice to follow these general holiday weeks. Schools and educational institutions can benefit from divided holidays for administrative reasons. Teachers and staff may find it easier to plan the time of the vacation better and ensure that the curriculum can be followed as well as possible.
Hyvää Hiihtolomaa/Talvilomaa!
Minna, OLS Community Manager – Finnish
Source: Unsplash