In Finland you won’t celebrate spring in March due to unpredictable weather. While snow may begin to melt in the south, freezing temperatures and snowstorms are still common occurrences.
The true and official onset of spring festivities is marked by May Day, when the weather is more reliably mild, and the landscape begins to burst with new life.
How to immerse in the unique Nordic celebration’s cultural tapestry of vibrant festivals and cherished traditions? I truly love the fact that Finns are always up for a celebration! I noticed many times how do the embrace small celebrations and find joy in simple pleasures.
In this guide, I unveil the authentic experiences and practices I have gathered from my friends living in Finland allowing you to celebrate spring like a Finn.
Easter bonfires to drive away evil spirits
For several hundred years, people have lit Easter fires as part of various seasonal and calendar celebrations across Europe, including Shrove Tuesday, Midsummer’s Eve, May Day, and spring and harvest feasts, which some regions still observe.
In the old days, people believed that fires and smoke could ward off evil spirits. People believed that witches and trolls couldn’t fly because they couldn’t see through the smoke, and trolls feared living fire.
In the Ostrobothnia region which is located in north-western Finland the residents lit bonfires. Communities in Central, Southern, and Northern Ostrobothnia keep the tradition alive by lighting small fires in buildings and organizing local village festivities with communal bonfires.
Everyone, including children, can join in building family bonfires. These bonfire squares serve as meeting places for people of all ages to socialize, welcoming everyone, even those driving in from afar.
Villagers often sell coffee and hot sausages near the bonfire, hold raffles, and reward small children dressed as Easter witches, known as Trullis. Trullis remain a part of Ostrobothnian Easter as children dressed as witches visit houses. Kids cut and decorate willow twigs (pajunkissa) like this to give as gifts when they go door to door as Easter witches. Feels like Halloween? Neighbours offer treats on Holy Saturday morning to ward off bad omens.
At the door, the small Easter-witches recite a traditional rhyme: I wave a twig for a fresh and healthy year ahead; a twig for you, a treat for me!”
Seurasaari Festival Ground
People gather around the Easter bonfires, a common tradition mostly in the Ostrobothnia region but also observed in Helsinki areas. Seurasaari Island hosts the annual bonfire at Juhlakentävä square in the evening of 30.3.2024, resembling a passion play particularly cherished by families and children, who enjoy the outdoor festivities and the emergence of spring’s first signs.
Since 1982, residents have been lighting Easter Bonfires in Seurasaari on Holy Saturdays. As the evening begins, the first bonfire will be lit, followed by the illumination of a massive Easter bonfire as darkness descends upon the scene.
Attendees light Easter Bonfires at Seurasaari Festival Ground and children dress up as trolls with coffee pots and brooms.
Join the Easter celebrations with locals in Finnish lakeland
Nukula, a heartwarming and serene family-run guesthouse by Lake Päijänne, offers wellness, accommodation, and authentic Finnish experiences such as accommodation, sauna, complete with homemade cuisine. It’s one of those charming places in Finland you really want to visit as a nature lover.
At Nukula, you can experience not only the customs of Finnish Easter but also learn about local traditions and legends. During the 6-day stay, you will participate in authentic Easter decoration, the preparation of festive meals, forest walks, and lighting bonfires.
You will quiet sleep surrounded by nature, waking to birdsong or sunlight streaming into your window, with accommodation options ranging from open-air to enclosed spaces.
Guests can try the traditional Finnish sauna located on the shore of Päijänne, the deepest lake in Finland. You can enjoy a sauna and heat up a rye bread sandwich. Fresh blueberries from the forest are a treat in late summer. The sauna also offers accommodation for night-time views. You can relax on the benches after the sauna cools down.
In Nukula they also offer sauna treatments and wellness services such as birch whisk skin treatments or cleansing Sauna. You can collect herbs and plants from the forest for your treatments.
Eat like a local
Trying local and seasonal dishes should be a ritual of all curious travellers. I am aware of the fact that finding them is not always easy. Easter dishes won’t be served in all Finnish restaurant, but you might try them if you know locals who will guide you to the right place.
Mämmi, the most traditional and special Easter dessert in Finland, is a dark brown pudding made of rye flour and powdered malted rye seasoned with dark molasses. During Easter, people typically buy Mämmi from food shops rather than preparing it at home, appreciating its unique flavor.
The Fazer Mignon chocolate egg are almond-hazelnut nougat filled real eggshells, dating back to 1896. Its a popular as a unique souvenir during Easter. I am unsure of the difference between Fazet chocolate ingredients and for example Milka or Lindt, but Fazer is surely my favourite.
Pasha, an alternative option, involves leaving a creamy-colored pudding of rakha, eggs, and cream, flavored with almonds and raisins, overnight to solidify in a wooden mold adorned with religious motifs. This dish is highly favored by Orthodox Christians, possibly because meat, eggs, and dairy products are forbidden during the Easter fast.
On Easter Sunday, families typically enjoy roast lamb seasoned with herbs and garlic, served alongside boiled or roasted vegetables. The meal often includes cold cuts, aspics, pâtés, as well as egg and fish dishes like fish roe, marinated herring, and gravlax.
Walpurgis Night signals winter’s end
On a warm spring night, people in Finland celebrate the ancient festival of Walpurgis Night (fi: Vappu) with roaring bonfires, springtime songs, gravlax, schnapps, white caps, and witches. People come together to let go of the negative energies accumulated over the previous year.
An ancient pagan tradition adapted into Christian practices
Today it’s a modern tradition combining pagan and customs and christian veneration. Not only in Finland! The pagan tradition of Beltane includes rituals were celebrating fertility, the end of the long, dark winter and the arrival of spring.
This pagan custom underwent Christianization following 870 to honor the canonization of Walpurga, a British Christian missionary renowned for her miraculous healing abilities, particularly against the effects of witches’ spells.
Walpurgis Night is celebrated on April 30th and May 1st, commemorating Saint Walpurga’s canonization and relic movement to Eichstätt on May 1st, 870. She was revered in Germany for combating diseases and witchcraft, and people light bonfires to ward off evil spirits and witches, while some visit her tomb in Eichstätt for oil on her feast day.
A Mix of Tradition, Festivity, and Political Discourse
Local traditions vary from one area to another, or even from town to town. In Finland Vappu happens on the same day as the International Workers’ Day parade. Throughout the country, people of all generations gather on the eve of May Day for a carnival-style street festival. Students parade through town wearing graduation caps, marking the onset of summer.
Yet, amidst the balloons, confetti, and champagne, May Day and Worker’s Day, both observed on May 1st, prompt political speeches echoing across the public squares of major cities.
In Helsinki, crowds gather around the Market Square. They wash the nude female figure before placing a white hat – awarded to each student at their graduation – upon her head. Similar ceremonies occur in towns across Finland, accompanied by singing to welcome summer and a brighter future. May Day follows with champagne picnics in the park and a day filled with parades and events.
From Casual Blankets to Lavish Setups
Many enjoy picnics with friends, food, and sparkling wine on blankets. Some go all out with lavish setups including pavilions, white tablecloths, and fancy food. Picnics often start early, with some extending from late-night celebrations.
In terms of food, Vappu features delicacies like tippaleipä (funnel cake), and munkki, a doughnut, served alongside delicious Finnish mead called sima.
Celebrate Spring in the Finnish countryside
Celebrating spring in the countryside offers a unique and refreshing perspective on local customs, nature’s awakening, and traditional festivities. It’s a very anticipated moment among Finns. Spring in Finland is characterized by a prolonged thaw, a time when the snow melts away. How to embrace the season?
Sustainable experiences for nature and sauna lovers
Imagine taking a wood-heated sauna on a boat (fi:saunalautta) floating on the waves of Lake Saimaa, surrounded by nature. I found three unique options for nature lovers worth mentioning:
Uhkua’s floating raft in Nikinsalmi, 50 km from Mikkeli city centre. It’s a very unusual way to experience a traditional Finnish lakeside nature beauty and sauna rituals. Visitors were pleasantly surprised by hosts guiding sauna and stove use.
This luxury nature accommodation is built from recycled materials and has no electricity or running water. There are two similar looking buildings there, the accommodation and sauna raft. You will use rowing boat to reach the rafts when The Lake Saimaa is free of ice. You can cook your own meals or order seasonal food for breakfast, dinner or picnic. Canoes are also available for rent.
The most exciting experience is the get guided service such as paddling, forest foraging or fishing. Boat trip around Yovesi, Lake Saimaa, includes tasting seasonal wild food by the open fire. The guided forest foraging and fishing is combined with cooking experience with local host. For more tips on foraging in Finland, read this article.
For an organized sauna cruise on Vuoksi River in Imatra with music and food, try Sauna Ferry Sisu.
A Granite Smoke Sauna in a Treehouse Paradise
Have you experienced granite smoke sauna during a stay in a treehouse? It is like out of this world. Storfinnhova Gård is located on the island of Kemiö, 150 km from Helsinki and 77 km from Turku. Approximately one kilometer from the Storfinnhova Gård farm there is a forest village of treehouses, Metsäkylä. You will sleep surrounded by the sounds of the pine forest. The wooden huts are quite basic, there is not much furniture beside the beds. Toilets are outdoor and the self-breakfast you can have in the great hall 15 meters from your hut.
The unusual sauna is built in the granite cave, dimly lit by candles when it is heated. There is a fresh stream running inside the sauna which give you a spot to cool down while bathing. If you visit the forest village in offseason in May it might not be too busy.
Guided Tours and Events For Bird Watching Enthusiasts
Finland draws bird enthusiasts from around the world due to its abundance of avian life. National Parks and ancient forests host diverse bird species including owls, woodpeckers, cranes, eagles, and Charadriiformes.
Best guided bird watching tours in Ostrobothnia
It’s worth hiring a local guide or expert for your bird watching trip. In Ostrobothnia, it’s crucial to mark the end of May for this phenomenon.
I really love the idea of guided bird photography tours. Finnature organises personalized tours in Oulu and Kuusamo. Their goal is to find sensational bird species such as eastern or northern passerines, woodpeckers, grouse species and owls.
Liminka Bay Visitor Centre in Ostrobothnia is a famous bird-watching hotspot. Birdwatching towers and hides provide excellent vantage points to observe various bird species. During the spring, the peak season starts in late March and lasts until mid-June.
In end-April the most spectacular is the spring migration of bean geese. You can head to Temmesjokisuu birdwatching tower to see geese flying to spots where they spend the night. It’s 20 min by car from the Liminka Bay Visitor Centre.
In late April to May, witness peak migration of Eurasian curlews and black-tailed godwits, known for their distinctive calls.. It’s located 600m from the Visitor Centre. May is an excellent time to spot Eurasian teal, European wigeon, Montagu’s harrier and Eurasian bitter.
Annual Gatherings For Bird Lovers
There is as well a very known event for bird lovers, Kuusamo Bird Marathon, happening every year a week before midsummer. It gathers birders aiming to capture as many species as possible in 24 hours. Since it’s a serie for a few eco teams, where only bicycles or canoes can be used to reach the haunts of rare birds.
Another spectacular birdwatching event is organised every year in early May by BirdLifeFinland. “The Battle of Towers” is a contest where tams of people observe as many birds as possible from a tower for eight hors.
In Southern Finland, mid-May is the prime time to observe the migration. Arktika-päivät at Virolahti, south-east Finland, less than 2hours drive from Helsinki city. This is an event of birds moving back for the summer. Virolahti is excellent place to greet the birds!
In late May, Virolahti area witnesses arctic birds migrating through Gulf of Finland National Park. Huge masses of waterfowl move through this area in May to their Arctic breeding spots.
Virolahti has many observation towers, perfect for birdwatching along lakeshores. From Vilkkilan Turan Torni tower or the tower at Hurppu you can observe migrating waterfowl such as seaducks or geese.
Visit a Farm in a Lambing Season
Meet the newborn lambs and other animals.
Fallkulla Domestic Animal Farm, 30 km north of Helsinki, offers encounters with native Finnish animal breeds.
At Hakamaa Sheep Farm you will learn how to care for animals in an ecological manner by joining everyday activities. Enjoy farm stay with local cuisine at their charming restaurant featuring homemade meals from fresh, local ingredients. You can as well buy products to take home such as jams, lamb loins, woolen yarn or juices. The farm is located in the picturesque countryside of Hämeenlinna, 3 hours north from Helsinki.
Kuusiluoto is located in the middle of Helsinki. Between June and October, sheep roam and graze on Kuusiluoto, tasked with preserving the traditional open pasture landscape.
Learn how to do Forest Bathing
Have you ever experienced Finnish nature with all your senses during a forest bath, guided by qualified experts? Originating in Japan, forest bathing, or Shirin Yoku, involves slow-paced nature walks that lower heart rate, reduce stress, and boost the immune system.
Ilse Klockars, certified nature guide, offers outdoor tours including sea kayaking, open fire cooking, and personalized nature experiences.
Summary – Ways to Embrace Spring Like an Authentic Finn
In Finland, celebrating spring goes beyond the surface level of picnics and flower-viewing. Tt’s about immersing oneself in the country’s rich traditions and embracing the natural world. Celebrate spring: May Day, ice breaking, and traditional sauna session, Finnish-style.
Explore Finland’s hidden gems for an authentic spring experience, creating lasting memories.
“Kevät saapuu kuin varkain, mutta jättää jäljen sydämeen.” (Spring arrives like a thief, but leaves a mark on the heart.)
