Helsinki, the capital city and most populous municipality of Finland. *Photo from Wikipedia
December 6 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Finland from Russia in 1917.
Most of the region was a part of the Kingdom of Sweden from the 13th century to 1809, when the vast majority of the Finnish-speaking areas of Sweden were ceded to the Russian Empire (excluding the Finnish-speaking areas of the modern-day Northern Sweden), making this area the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. The Lutheran religion dominated.
Finnish nationalism emerged, focused on Finnish cultural traditions, including music and – especially – the highly distinctive language and lyrics associated with it. The catastrophic Finnish famine of 1866-1868 was followed by eased economic regulations and extensive emigration.
The movement for Finland’s independence started after the revolutions in Russia, caused by disturbances inside Russia from hardships connected to the World War I. This gave Finland an opportunity to withdraw from Russian rule.
After several disagreements between the non-socialists and the social-democrats over who should have the power in Finland, on December 4, 1917, the Senate of Finland finally made a Declaration of Independence which was adopted by the Finnish parliament two days later.
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. The country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland.
*Reference: Wikipedia
