25/01/2022
There are some unwritten rules that every Finn knows without saying:
1. If you get lost or don't know where to go, the last thing you do is asking somebody for directions.
2. A safety distance of at least one meter shall be maintained in the queue.
3. No jumping the queue.
4. At the bus stop, you stand in a droplet-shaped queue formation, where there are more people around the front door of the bus and others seem to be waiting further away. However, everyone keeps a couple of meters apart. Don't even think about squeezing under the canopy in the rain if there already are some other people there.
5. Do not leave the sauna immediately after someone has thrown a splash on the kiuas to make steam. Otherwise, the heat escapes through the open door, that’s awful!
6. You do not go to the sauna in a bathing suit. You don’t wear anything. Except in some tourist saunas they allow swimsuits nowadays but it feels very wrong.
7. When invited for a visit, you arrive on time. Preferably 15 min early. If you happen to be late, you should apologize profusely for even the slightest delay.
8. When the hostess says ”coffee is being served, please help yourself”, don’t get too excited. You must wait for the hostess to repeat her prompt a couple of times, otherwise you’re considered being too creedy.
9. Coffee is a must on all occasions. You always offer a cup of coffee to anybody who drops in for a visit.
If you do not drink coffee at all, be prepared to hear the wonder.
It’s rude not to accept the cup of coffee, but after 4 pm, however, you can refuse to drink coffee on the basis of loosing a night's sleep.
a. "No need to brew coffee for me." But if someone else will have a cup of coffee, so can I.
b. You cannot take the last piece of cake or pie. At the very least, one has to suggest that it can be put in half with someone else. "No no, I couldn’t!" "Not me, but you!" ”Ok, we go halfsies”
10. The shoes are taken off inside our homes. You leave your shoes at the foyer, which you might call the mud room, but we call it an entrance. When foreign TV series show people walking inside with their shoes on, we Finns cringe - or worst of all, if somebody lies on a couch or in bed with their shoes on. Never in Finland!
11. When you receive praise, you should belittle. The core of Finnishness is perfectly described by the statements: “Oh, this old thing is nothing” and “let’s not make a fuss about it”
12. When an acquaintance boasts that he has collected mushrooms or berries in bucket loads, it is not polite to inquire where exactly he’s found such treasures. No one wants others to find their own secret stash.
13. The weather is a perfectly valid topic of conversation and you’re never satisfied with it. It’s either too hot or too cold, it hasn’t rained in a long time, or rains too often, and this should be commented whenever possible. Exept in an elevator. Nobody says a word in an elevator with strangers. Neighbours are considered strangers.
14. If a foreigner talks about Santa Claus, sauna or Nokia, it is always worth mentioning that they are all from Finland.