Last updated 14 June 2026
Culture is one of the core topics on Finland's new citizenship test, launching in 2027. This guide covers the areas you are most likely to encounter: national symbols, language, literature and the arts, holidays and traditions, nature, food, sport, and the indigenous Sámi people. Read it as an overview — for practice questions, use the app.
Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family, which sets it apart from the surrounding Indo-European languages such as Swedish, Russian and Norwegian. Its closest relatives include Estonian and the Sámi languages; Hungarian is a more distant cousin. Swedish is Finland's second official language, a legacy of six centuries of Swedish rule, and about five percent of the population are native Swedish speakers. The two languages have equal legal standing — government services, legislation and the courts operate in both. Knowing that Finnish and Estonian are related, while Swedish is not, is a detail that appears on the test.
Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, was compiled by the physician and linguist Elias Lönnrot (1802–1884), who travelled through eastern Finland and Karelia collecting ancient oral folk poems known as runot. The definitive New Kalevala was published in 1849. The epic gave the Finnish-speaking population a shared cultural identity at a time when Finland was an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire, and it directly inspired Sibelius, Gallen-Kallela and generations of artists. Kalevala Day — also called Finnish Culture Day — is marked on 28 February each year, and the flag is flown.
Finland's national author is Aleksis Kivi, whose novel Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä, 1870) is considered the first full novel written in Finnish. His own day, 10 October, doubles as Finnish Literature Day. Other major names include Tove Jansson (1914–2001), the creator of the Moomins, who wrote her nine Moomin books in Swedish between 1945 and 1970; Väinö Linna, whose The Unknown Soldier (1954) remains the defining Finnish account of the Continuation War; and Mika Waltari, internationally famous for The Egyptian (Sinuhe egyptiläinen).
Finland's flag — a blue Nordic cross on a white background — was made official by law in 1918, the year after independence. By tradition the blue represents the country's lakes and the white its winter snow. The coat of arms features a golden lion on a red field, a symbol old enough to appear in the 16th century and the source of the national ice hockey team's nickname, Leijonat (the Lions).
Nature symbols are also worth knowing for the test: the national animal is the brown bear; the national bird is the whooper swan; the national fish is the perch; the national tree is the silver birch (recognised by its white bark); the national flower is the lily-of-the-valley (kielo); and granite is the national rock, visible in Helsinki's buildings and bedrock across the country.
The national anthem is Maamme ("Our Land"). The words were written by the poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg and the melody composed by Fredrik Pacius.
Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) is Finland's most celebrated composer. His symphonic poem Finlandia, written in 1899, became a symbol of Finnish national feeling during a period of Russian pressure on Finnish autonomy. Finland also has a remarkable density of heavy metal music — more bands per capita than any other country. The costumed band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 with "Hard Rock Hallelujah", Finland's first Eurovision victory. Well-known metal bands include Nightwish and Children of Bodom.
Finnish design is globally recognised. Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) was both an architect and designer; his Aalto vase — also called the Savoy vase — is still manufactured by Iittala, a glassware company founded in 1881. Marimekko, founded in 1951, became an icon of bold, colourful pattern-making, most famously its Unikko poppy print.
The sauna is arguably the single most distinctive element of Finnish everyday life. There are more than three million saunas in a country of 5.6 million people — roughly one for every two inhabitants. In 2020, Finnish sauna culture was inscribed on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. Sauna is used for relaxation, socialising and, historically, for births and healing. Bathing in a sauna, then cooling off in a lake or sea, is a ritual that spans all ages and social backgrounds.
Finland is the most forested country in Europe: roughly three-quarters of its land area is covered by forest. It is nicknamed the "land of a thousand lakes" — in reality there are around 188,000 lakes, covering about a tenth of the total area.
The far north experiences two striking phenomena: kaamos (polar night), the period around midwinter when the sun does not rise above the horizon at all — lasting almost two months in Utsjoki — and the nightless night of midsummer, when the sun does not set for weeks on end in northern Lapland.
A legal concept central to Finnish outdoor culture is everyman's right (jokamiehenoikeus): everyone has the right to move freely in nature, pick berries and mushrooms, and camp temporarily, regardless of who owns the land. The only condition is that the activity causes no more than minor harm.
The main holidays an applicant should know:
Finns also celebrate name days (nimipäivät): each given name is assigned a day in the calendar, and name days are observed alongside birthdays.
Finnish food culture is rooted in simple, seasonal and often locally sourced ingredients. Rye bread (ruisleipä) — dense, dark, sourdough-leavened — is a staple found on almost every Finnish table. The Karelian pie (karjalanpiirakka), a rye-crust pastry filled with rice porridge and traditionally served with egg butter (munavoi), holds EU Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status, meaning only products made with traditional methods and ingredients may carry the name. Other familiar items include korvapuusti (a cardamom-spiced cinnamon bun baked in Finland since the 18th century) and leipäjuusto (bread cheese), a mild oven-browned cheese typically served with cloudberries.
Finland punches well above its weight in sport. Paavo Nurmi (1897–1973) won nine Olympic gold medals in long-distance running during the 1920s, earning the nickname the "Flying Finn". Pesäpallo (Finnish baseball), developed by Lauri Pihkala in the 1920s from American baseball, is the country's national sport. Ice hockey is the most passionately followed team sport: the national men's team, Leijonat, won its first Olympic gold in 2022 at the Beijing Winter Games. Finland has produced three Formula 1 world champions: Keke Rosberg (1982), Mika Häkkinen (1998 and 1999) and Kimi Räikkönen (2007).
The Sámi are Finland's — and the European Union's — only indigenous people. They live mainly in northern Lapland, in an area traditionally called Sápmi that spans Finland, Norway, Sweden and Russia. The Sámi Parliament (Saamelaiskäräjät / Sámediggi) is the Sámi people's self-governing body in Finland; its main office is in Inari, home also to the Sajos cultural centre. The Sámi have three languages recognised in Finland — Northern Sámi, Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi — each with official status in the municipalities where it is spoken.
Helsinki, the capital, sits on a peninsula in the south of the country and is home to roughly one-fifth of the Finnish population. Helsinki Cathedral, designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and consecrated in 1852, dominates Senate Square and is one of the city's most recognisable symbols. Just off the coast lies Suomenlinna, a sea fortress whose construction began in the 1700s; it has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1991.
This page is an independent study overview based on publicly available official sources. It is informational, not legal advice. Always verify details with Migri for the authoritative, up-to-date requirements.