December 6th. Independence Day Finland in 2025

At the beginning of December, Finland is preparing to celebrate a big event: Independence Day. Traditionally, the holiday is celebrated on December 6th.

This is one of the main holidays of the Christmas season and of the year. Shortly before Independence Day, Helsinki opens its Christmas markets and then Joulupukki officially opens the Christmas season on Senate Square

December 6th. Independence Day Finland image from the site www.heihei.ru — Image from ©: Open sources

The national holiday is celebrated every year and is a national holiday and also a flag day.

The holiday began to be celebrated on December 6, 1917, just after the approval of the Declaration of Independence Finland from Russia.

Significant events of the Independence Day holiday:

The main event of December 6 is undoubtedly the presidential reception at his own residence, the Finns simply call it Gala.

Famous people are invited to the ceremony Finland, as well as foreigners who have brought benefit to the country in the current year. The reception is shown on television in real time and among all television programs it has the highest rating in terms of views.

A historical photo of four presidents Finland. From left to right - Tarja Halonen with her husband. Mauno Koivisto with his wife. Sauli Niinistö with his wife. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari with his wife.

On Independence Day, it is customary for residents of Suomi to light candles between 18:00 and 20:00.

The candles must be painted blue and white, in honor of the flag. The modern tradition dates back to 1927, when the Independence Union called for such candles to be lit in the evening.

Traditional events:

Usually, the events dedicated to the holiday begin at 9 am. The ceremony of raising the national flag takes place on the Tähtitornimäki hill, which is located in the very center of Helsinki. This ceremony was formed back in 1957. The organizer is the community Suomalaisuuden liitto.

The Prime Minister Finland will lay flowers on behalf of the State Council at the grave of the heroes in the cemetery in Hietaniemi.

At 12:00, an ecumenical service begins in St. Nicholas' Cathedral (Cathedral), in which members of the State Council and the President of the Republic participate. The Yle TV1 channel is broadcasting live.

In the afternoon, military parades begin in many cities Finland.

In 2018, a major parade took place in the city of Mikkeli

In the evening hours, the torchlight procession of the capital's students starts from the Hietaniemi cemetery and ends near the Senate Square at about 18:00. From the balcony of the presidential palace, the students are always greeted by the highest persons of Suomi.

Please note that banks, post offices, and most shops, including the state-owned Alko store, are closed on this day. Only certain types of kiosks and shops at stations may operate.

The celebration ends with a ceremonial fireworks display, which usually starts at 22:00. You can watch it from Tähtitornimäki Hill or live on television.

Protests:

Although Finland is considered a fairly peaceful country with a low crime rate, there are exceptions even here.

In 2013, a group of anarchist activists from Helsinki and Tampere organized an action in the city of Tampere, where about 2,000 people smashed shop windows, tried to break into the palace, where the president was being received. 28 participants in the mass riots were detained.

In 2014, in Helsinki, anarchists of the "left" movement staged a demonstration called "School march from the neighborhood to the palace." 200 people were involved in the march. They began their movement from the Itäkeskus district and moved toward the city center, smashing cars, breaking gates, and smashing windows and shop windows along the way.

Even the walls of several embassies were vandalized. The damage to the city amounted to several thousand euros.

23 activists were detained.

Interesting culinary solutions for Independence Day Finland:

How shops work on Independence Day

It is better to check on the shop's website . You can learn how to search for opening hours in Google using the instructions below.

Prisma and K-citymarket will also be open.

Alko is closed on December 6th. Alko shop opening hours

The post office is usually closed on Independence Day.

Banks are closed. Bank opening hours during holidays in Finland.

Public transport runs according to the weekend schedule.

To check the opening hours of a store, you can go to the website or enter the phrase into Google

itsenäisyyspäivä kauppojen aukioloajat + store name

For example

itsenäisyyspäivä prisma aukioloajat

Then you need to select the store you are going to and look at the schedule on its page.