Season’s Greetings from the Embassy!
Now it is time take a break from the everyday hustle and welcome the festive time of the year, starting with bayram holiday in Türkiye and Midsummer in Finland.
The Embassy will be closed during the bayram week on 17-21 June, which coincides with the Midsummer holiday on 21st June in Finland. While Turkish people will enjoy the Kurban Bayramı with their families and taking a break from the hustle of everyday routine, in the end of the week Finns will enjoy the Midsummer, the celebration of the summer solstice. It is when most of the Finns start their summer holidays as the weather gets warmer.
The Finnish word for Midsummer is juhannus, actually a form of “John,” as in Saint John, whose feast day falls on or near the summer solstice. In Swedish, which is also an official language in Finland, the holiday is known simply as midsommar. It is also called the ‘white nights’ where it does not get dark and people enjoy the warm weather outside all day long.
Here you can see a short video about what Juhannus means for the Finns: https://youtu.be/ojsOSKZkVQU(Link to another website.)
With the start of the summer season, a lot of festivals are on the way in Finland such as the Midnight Sun Film Festival(Link to another website.) and the Kuopio Dance Festival(Link to another website.) and the festivities will keep flowing all throughout the summer season.
Read more about Midsummer traditions in Finland: https://www.visitfinland.com/en/articles/everything-need-to-know-about-midsummer/(Link to another website.)
Hyvää bayramia ja Hyvää juhannusta!