Hyvää suomalaisuuden päivää! Happy Finnish Identity Day!
The Day of Finnish Identity is also known as the J V Snellmanin päivä, ( J V Snellmans’ Day) celebrated on 12 May every year in Finland. It is a day to celebrate being Finnish and to reflect on the Finnish identity, culture, and history.
Finland has a vibrant culture, history and people. J.V. Snellmann is celebrated on this day because he was born on 12 May, in 1806, and was also a great influence for the Finnish language. He was a writer, journalist and philosopher and studied at the University of Helsinki at the same time as Elias Lönnrot ja J.L. Runeberg, another influential person to the Finnish language. There will be a blog post about him at one point as well.
In 1839, Snellman left to study in Central Europe. His goals began to become clear: he wanted to awaken the Finnish national spirit. Even though the educated people in Finland spoke Swedish, in his opinion, Finnish should have become the language of schools and the government organizations.
Snellman also wanted to promote the education and civilization of the common people. He also considered it important to publish literature in Finnish and to get the nations’ own money.
Building the national identity of Finnish people
After returning to Finland, Snellman had to notice that his ideas did not please everyone - especially the Russian authorities. He was even considered a dangerous bigot and was no longer given a post at the university.
Under his influence many reforms were implemented including universal suffrage for men as well as women; free public education; freedom from censorship; religious tolerance among other things which all resulted in making significant improvements to people's lives throughout the nation - something that still resonates strongly today within Finnish society.
Finnish Identity Day is an opportunity for us to reflect on how far we’ve come since gaining independence from Russia in 1917 – from developing world class educational systems and healthcare services; establishing strong economic stability; creating beautiful works of art including literature, music & film; building sustainable infrastructure projects across the country – it’s amazing how much progress has been achieved in just over 100 years!
So let's take a moment today to appreciate everything that makes Finland wonderful - its stunning natural beauty (the archipelago!), friendly locals & delicious food - while also looking towards future generations with optimism about what can be accomplished together if we continue working hard towards common goals. On this day especially let's remember: "We are one nation united by language & spirit".
To commemorate this remarkable man each year there are numerous events held across Finland on J V Snellmans Day such as lectures given by leading academics discussing topics related directly or indirectly back towards his work plus special exhibitions showcasing artwork inspired by him too so everyone can get involved regardless if they're interested or not!
Lets celebrate on 12 May!
Minna, OLS Community Manager – Finnish