Itsenäisyyspäivä

That would be Independence Day in Finland. You might give a Finn a hug or find yourself a sauna to celebrate. It's special because Suomen tasavalta, Republiken Finland, the Republic of Finland is 100 years established today.  Some nice projects have been rolled out in tribute: 100 Finns each one a a year older than the next via MeFi where there is some commentary. Sadly the project to give Finland a real mountain (it is one of the flattest countries in Europe) ran into a sand of bureaucratic red tape. I've had a bit to say about Finns and Finland on The Blob. Check out:

• Tove Jansson author and finlandssvenskar  a member of the 5% Swedish speaking minority.
• The country is getting even more ethnically diverse and so more interesting
• As I say above, the place is flat and full of lakes but there are hundreds of islands
• They have pimples like us
• They make nifty films
• It's not all sweetness and light, though.

That's all for now. You may take your hat off and sing along with Maamme.