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Nyrkki -> Re: to the Finnish members here (3/20/2003 3:44:13 PM)
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Hades
[B]Im doing a report on your country and I need some help. I need to know if Finland as a national bird, flower, and/or tree. thanks in advance [/B][/QUOTE]
Off course I will try to help, it's nice when somebody from the other side of the world takes interest in our country. Or maybe you didn't have any choise). Anyway, follow Macs link and you'll find the ones you where asking for. I will list a few you won't find in the books.
National vegetable: sausage, preferably grilled over open fire
National spirits: Koskekorva, preferably pocket warm, straight from the bottle.
National sport: pesapallo, a finnish version of baseball (the main difference is that the pitcher and the batter stand side by side and the ball is thrown straight up over the plate).
National complex: inferiority complex. As a young nation a history of hundred of years under the swedish crown has left us Finns with feeling of inferiority, especially in comparison with the Swedes. Some feel that the complex was cured when we won over the Swedes in the 1995 ishockey world championship finals, but the fact that we still, eight years later, talk about this victory shows that nothing has changed.
National favorite team: The Lions, the finnish national hockey team.
National living legend: General Adolf Ehrnrooth. Last one alive of the regimental commanders from WWII. At the age of well over 90, the old warhero has now retired from public, but only a few years ago we could still lisen to his warstories at the president's independence day receiptions.
National shame: the fate of the Estonian volunteers who fought in the finnish armed forces during the second world war. After the war the volunteers, most of whom had fought in the first line troops for many years, where handed over to the Sovjetunion. Only now, ower 50 years later, have they received some help and recognition from the finnish government. A sign on how sore point this is to us Finns, is the fact that I couldn't find any finnish webpages about the Estonian volunteers (volunteers from other countries are quite well represented).
National pride: high tech, as small country Finland can't win in mass production and during the last few years we've succeded quite well in the technology competition.
A could go on for some time with the list. Please ask if you need something specific. May I ask what kind of report you are working on?
I have a bad habit of mixing humor with serious matters, but I think you realize which points are more jokes than facts. Remember though, that there is allways some truth in jokes, at least in the good ones.
Nyrkki
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