Finland’s Independence Day to be celebrated with old and new traditions

Independent Finland’s 101st birthday will be celebrated this week with both new and familiar traditions. The celebrations on the eve of Independence Day, which began last year with Finland’s 100th anniversary, will be held this year, too.

The centenary of Finland’s independence brought new traditions to the independence day celebrations. In addition to familiar traditions, last year saw the emergence of many new joyful and collaborative events throughout Finland, as well as much-admired blue and white light installations. According to the Finland 100 Centenary Celebration Report*, nearly three out of four Finns felt that the celebrations for the centenary year were more cheerful than in previous years, and half of respondents said they now consider Independence Day celebrations more important than before. Moving forward, Finns would like Independence Day celebrations to be cheerful, bright and communal.

“Finland’s centenary year demonstrated that the themes of joy and light are welcome additions to the dignified Independence Day atmosphere. It's great to see how many of last year’s ideas are continuing this year and will become new traditions over time,” says State Secretary Paula Lehtomäki.

One of the new traditions will continue this year on the eve of Independence Day, when more than 500 children from all over Finland will gather at the House of the Estates in Helsinki for a children’s Independence Day celebration hosted by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä. Every municipality in Finland had the opportunity to send two 10-year-old children to the celebration. The theme of this year’s celebration is reading and literature.

The Independence Day eve celebrations will also feature blue and white light installations. The Government will illuminate the House of the Estates and the Government Palace in Helsinki on 5 December starting at noon and 6 p.m., respectively 

During the week of Independence Day, the Prime Minister’s Office will also publish a book of memories from the Finland 100 celebration year. You can relive the unforgettable moments and feelings through stories told by President Sauli Niinistö, explorer Pata Degerman, musician Ville Darude Virtanen and many others. The book of memories from Finland’s centenary celebration year is available in the Government Online Bookstore at http://julkaisutilaukset.valtioneuvosto.fi/Home.

The Finland 100 Centenary Celebration Report discusses the results and story of Finland’s centenary year programme. You can learn more about the report at suomi100raportti.fi/en/.

Inquiries: Paula Lehtomäki, State Secretary, tel. +358 295 160 280 and Tiina-Kaisa Laakso-Liukkonen, Production Manager, tel. +358 50 329 4283

*The six-part Finland 100 survey, conducted in 2025–2018, explored Finns’ awareness of and views about the coming centenary year of Finland’s independence. For the study, conducted in conjunction with the consumer barometer survey carried out by Statistics Finland, more than 1,000 residents of Finland between the ages of 15 and 84 were interviewed and the results were proportioned to correspond to the entire population.