Consul General Series – 驻香港及澳门芬兰总领事Ms Johanna Karanko

Consulate General of Finland in Hong Kong and Macao

1. 芬兰著名和独特的节日或活动是什么？

芬兰是一个非常小的国家，我们有五百五十万人口，但面积宽我们也算大。因此，芬兰其实是人口稀少，实际上我们的文化很大一部分与芬兰的自然环境息息相关，因为芬兰是一个森林众多，湖泊众多的国家，这是我们文化遗产的重要组成部分，并且影响着芬兰的文化和节日。

因此，其他影响芬兰文化的是历史，我们曾经有700年属于瑞典的部份，然后我们曾经是一百几年，102年属于俄罗斯的部份，俄罗斯帝国，然后我们很快在12月6日便已经独立了102年。因此历史也影响了我们。芬兰文化可以说很多是关于大自然的，然后是北欧文化遗产和欧洲文化遗产。当然，价值观也有受到影响，影响了文化，

平等，在芬兰有一种我们称之为“人人享有的权利”。另外是公平，诚实，信任和谦虚。芬兰人不喜欢吹牛，这些就是影响着芬兰的文化价值观。

什么时候是最适合到芬兰旅游取决于您感兴趣的内容。 当然，冬天与香港有很大的不同。 天气很冷，我们下雪了，很多雪。 很冷，与香港有很大的不同。 当然，圣诞老人来自芬兰，我们有很多灯火，圣诞节前后，这个国家真的很喜庆，有很多灯火，还有很多游客去。 他们喜欢参观圣诞老人村，圣诞老人，因此非常受欢迎。 圣诞节前后还会发生其他事情，因此在12月，实际上有很多事情发生。 然后在夏天，这也是另一个非常好的时机，天气转暖，但我在这里总是说香港的冬天就像芬兰的夏天。 夏天的芬兰不太冷，但也不太热。 天气可能很温暖，然后在这个夏天实际上发生了许多节日。

什么时候是最适合到芬兰旅游取决于您感兴趣的内容。 当然，冬天与香港有很大的不同。 天气很冷，我们会下雪，很多雪。 很冷，与香港有很大的不同。 当然，圣诞老人是来自芬兰，我们有很多灯饰，圣诞节前后，国家真的很喜庆，有很多灯饰，还有很多游客去。 他们喜欢参观圣诞老人，圣诞老人村，因此非常受欢迎。 圣诞节前后还会发生其他事情，因此在12月，实际上有很多事情发生。 然后在夏天，这也是另一个非常好的时候，天气转暖，但我在这里经常说香港的冬天就像芬兰的夏天。 夏天的芬兰不太冷，但也不太热。 天气很温暖，然后在夏天会有许多节日。每年都会举行传统节日，例如，仲夏节通常在6月21日左右，大约是一年中最长的一天。 在北部，太阳不会落山。 我们很快，实际上在香港，这周是11月底。 我们到了北方根本没有太阳升起的日子， 它将在一月份再次升起。 在夏天，反之亦然。 即使在十一点，太阳仍然升起。 下班回家后，您还有额外的一天，因为这一天很长。 在北部，您几乎有两个月的时间是太阳不会落山，夏天是梦幻般的。因为白天很长，所以您有很多时间去做很多事情。 因此，芬兰人喜欢在这段时间举办许多节日。

例如在北部的索丹屈莱，他们有电影节。您可以一周每分每秒地观看电影。你只需要有入场证便可以观看电影。还有其他节日，夏季会举办许多音乐节。因为我们喜欢充分利用那么长的日子，那就是夏天，但是即使在夏天之前，也有五一假期，就像春天的狂欢节一样，随着冬天的结束和夏天的到来，许多年轻人都喜欢这个节日。对于音乐节，夏天充满了音乐节。基本上每个村庄或城镇都会尝试举办一个节日，以展示出对他们来说特别的东西。因此，例如，您将会见到一个只进行双簧管演奏的村庄，然后有另一个村庄或另一个镇进行民间音乐演奏，或者可能是古典音乐，歌剧表演。我们也有体育运动，例如，背妻子世界锦标赛。或现在因为希望变得性别中立，实际上称为背配偶比赛。妻子或丈夫，您可以随身背哪一个，然后进行跑步比赛。然后还有其他体育赛事，我们称之为疯狂游戏，例如沼泽足球，沼泽足球冠军。在沼泽中，跑步非常困难，因此，如果您在沼泽中有足球或足球比赛，将非常困难。对乡村来说，这是一个很好的宣传，可以让更多人来到参观，也给那个城市带来了一些声誉。因此，尤其是夏天有很多节日。

1. What is the famous and unique festival or events in your country?

Well, Finland is a very small country, we have five and a half million people but area wide we are quite big. So Finland is very sparsely populated, a big part of our culture is actually connected to the Finnish nature because Finland is a country of a lot of forests, a lot of lakes, and so these are very much part of our culture heritage and have affected, influence the Finnish culture and also Finnish festivals.

So, and then other things of course also influence the Finnish culture is the history, we were 700 years part of Sweden, and then we were a hundred and partly some years, a hundred and two years part of Russia, the Russia Empire, and we have been independent for a hundred and two years very soon the sixth of December. So the history also affected us. So the finnish culture could be said many things are about nature, then there is a nordic heritage and a European heritage. And then also of course the value have affected, affected the culture, equality, there is something in Finland we called everyman's right. Another thing is fairness, and honesty and trust, and modesty. Finns don’t like to brag, so these are like the cultural values that affect Finland.

When is the best time to visit Finland it depends on what you are interesting. Of course, winter is very different from Hong Kong. It gets very cold, and we get snow, a lot of snow. Very cold and that is very different from Hong Kong. And of course the Santa Claus come from Finland, we have lots of lights, and around Christmas, the country get really festive, a lot of lights and many tourist go. They like to visit Santa Claus, the Santa Claus village, so this is very popular. And there are other things also happening around Christmas, so in December, there is actually a lot of things. And then in summer, it is also another very nice time, the weather is warmer, but I always say here that Hong Kong winter is like Finland Summer. It is not too cold in Finland in the summer but it is not too warm either. It can be quite warm and then there are lots of festivals actually happening in this summer.

You have traditional festivals that happen every year, for example, Midsummer, usually around 21st of June, that’s around the longest day of the year. In the north, the sun doesn’t set. We are very soon, this week actually in Hong Kong which is the end of November. We come to the day when the sun doesn’t rise in the north at all. And it will rise again in January. In the summer, it is vice versa. Even at eleven, the sun is up. After you get home from work, you still have an extra day because the day is very very long. In the north, you have almost two months of the sun doesn’t set, but summer is fantastic in that sense because day is very long so you have a lot of time to do a lot of things. So finns like to organize a lot of festivals in this time.

For example in Sodankylä, in the north, they have the film festivals. So you can watch films 24/7 for one week. You get a festival pass and you can watch films. And there are other festivals, a lot of music festivals take place during the summer. Because we like to take good advantage of the days being that long, and this is in the summer, but even before summer, you have May day, just like the spring carnival, many many young people enjoy that festival as the winter ends and the summer start. For music festival, the summer is full of music festivals. Basically every village or town tries to have a festival to bring out what is special for them. So you will have for example, a village that does only oboe, and then there is for example, another village or another town that does folk music or then might be classical, the music site, opera. We also have sports, for example, the wife-carrying world championships. Or now to be gender neutral, it is actually called the spouse carrying. The wife or husband, you can carry which one, and then they do a running competition. And then also other events, sport event, we call them crazy games, they are for example soccer in swamp, swamp soccer champion. In a swamp it is very difficult to run, so if you having a football or a soccer match in swamp it will be very difficult. It is also a good publicity for villages and towns to have something that will bring people to visit, and also a bit of fame for that city. So there is a lot of festivals happening especially the summer.

2. 你建议人们来到芬兰读书或者长时间逗留吗？

为了学习，现时每年已经有大约超过一百多名香港学生去参加交换课程。 申请全日制学位的学生较少，但我们提供许多英语学位课程，因此对国际学生来说是一种促进交流的方式，很欢迎他们来到芬兰。这里有很多不同种类的课程，绝对不必担心语言障碍。 芬兰的技能学习以及教育系统当然是非常高质量的，虽然对于香港学生来说在芬兰读书未必是一个他们平常想到的决定，但这是一个很好的选择，

当然，要移民到芬兰很难，但现时有一个选择叫做初创VISA，因此有志于创业的人可以选择，除非他们在芬兰找到工作，但这就有两种渠道可供选择。

首先，人们最好去那里看看并享受一下当地的活动和经验，或者是是文化活动，或者是交换计划，首先了解该国，看看是否能忍受天气等等。

2. Do you think it is good suggestions for people to think about to go to Finland to study or to stay longer time?

For studying, there is already about a bit more than a hundred Hong Kong students that go every year for exchange programmes. Less students go for full degree but we do offer many of the degrees in English so it is a facilitate access for international students and they are very much welcome so there are many programmes that they can look into and of course no need to worry about the language barriers definitely. This year we will just pass as having the best future skills so future skills learning and of course the education system is very high quality so in that sense it is a good choice to have a look at and maybe a bit out of their ordinariate for Hong Kong students.

For immigrating to Finland of course it is quite difficult but there is something call the start-up VISA so people who are interested in setting up their business that would be the option for moving unless they find a job otherwise in Finland but this would be the kind of two channels to up for.

First of all, better you go there to have a look and enjoy the events and experiences, the cultural things first, or maybe an exchange programme get to know the country first and see if you can bear the weather.

3. 你可不可以介绍一下芬兰的设计，文化和小食？

芬兰在建筑和设计方面享誉多年。 对于我们来说，设计不是一些平常人在家中所没有的东西。 在芬兰，大多数人设计产品是非常地道的。 我们为设计感到骄傲，并且设计品可用于日常使用。 设计的产品并不太昂贵，因此大多数人都可以负担它们。 举例来说，阿尔瓦·阿尔托是设计该桌子，椅子最著名建筑师，到目前为止，这里所有设计都是由阿尔瓦·阿尔托设计的。 这些是在另一家纺织品芬兰公司玛莉美歌的东西，非常典型。 当我在70年代长大时，所有的孩子都会穿着玛莉美歌衬衫。 对于我们来说，这些产品每天都在使用。

这是卡累利阿馅饼，它是传统的快餐食品，实际上制作起来并不那么快，但是食用起来很快特别是在芬兰东部。这里面有米粥的黑麦面包皮。 最初，大米并不是芬兰特有的，因此它们的材料曾经是土豆或胡萝卜，但是由于芬兰的大米实际上是最受欢迎的一种。 如今，厨师通常将鸡蛋和牛油，鸡蛋和牛油混合在一起，然后放在上面。 这是一种非常典型的零食，如果您没有时间吃午饭，您可以迅速购买两到三块，它们通常更大一些，今天这些比较小，然后再来两三块。 这种小吃的名字是卡累利阿馅饼。 卡累利阿是芬兰东部的一个地区，卡累利阿馅饼实际上是在此制作。 但是如今，当然可以在任何地方购买它们。

3. Can you introduce the design, culture and snacks of Finland?

Finland has been known for quite a few years for architecture and for design. For us, design is not something that you don’t as a normal person have in your house. In Finland it is very typical for most people to have designed products. We are very proud of the designs and design is for everyday use. Designed products are not overly expensive so they are accessible to most people. Here for examples let’s say we have Alvar Aalto the most famous architect for that table, chairs so far, all the design by Alvar Aalto design. These are things that you used in Marimekko, another Finnish company where the textiles are from, are very typical. When I grow up in the 70s, all the kids will be dressed in Marimekko shirts. But for us, designer products are very much every day, use every day.

So this is the egg Karelian pie which is a traditional fast food from, it is actually not that fast to make, but that’s something very fast to eat from eastern Finland. So it’s a rye bread crust with rice porridge inside. Originally, of course rice is not endemic to Finland, they are used to be potatoes or carrots, but since rice in Finland is actually the more popular one. And nowadays, and the chef usually with egg and butter, egg and butter mix together, and then just put it on top. And this is a very typical snack, and let’s say if you don’t have time for lunch, you would buy them quickly two or three and they are usually bigger, these are the cocktails one, and then you will have two or three. The name of this snack is Karelian pie. Karelian is an area in eastern Finland where they actually make this and where they are from. But nowadays of course you can buy them everywhere.

4. 你觉得香港怎样 ？

这是我第一次来香港，香港是一个非常有趣的地方，充满活力和美丽。 我并没有真正意识到有多少大自然的，对于芬兰人来说，大自然非常重要。 大自然的数量非常令人印象深刻，易于找到。 我昨天才刚去完远足。 在赫尔辛基，赫尔辛基是一个小镇，约有100万人。 我住在距离大海两百米的地方，而且我也住在国家公园旁边。 我离市中心有点远，距市中心大约15或20分钟地铁路程。 对于芬兰人来说，大自然非常重要，对于我们来说，我们希望大自然与我们亲近。 实际上，许多芬兰人在靠近湖泊的大自然中都有避暑别墅，夏天小屋。 家庭有一间。 因此对我们来说非常重要。

4. How do you think about Hong Kong?

This is my first time in Hong Kong and Hong Kong is a very interesting place ,very dynamic and very beautiful. I didn’t actually realize how much nature and for finns, nature is very important you have in here. The amount of nature part is very impressive and easily assessable. I went hiking yesterday. In Helsinki, Helsinki is a small town, about one million people. I live two hundred metres from the sea, and I also live very next to the National Park. I am a bit outside of the centre, I am like fifteen, or twenty minutes by metro from the city centre. For finns, nature is very important and for us, we want to have the nature close to us. Many finns actually have a summer cottage, summer house somewhere in the nature close to lake. Families to have one. So it is very important for us.

5. 你觉得香港的菜色怎样？

我其实，嗯，中国菜有很多种。 因此我很享受。 对于香港，我喜欢点心，叉烧包，烧卖，我认为它们很美味。实际上，我上了一些关于制作饺子的课程，我参与了一个课程，那是饺子。 大约是去年四月，在节日之前，但是学习如何制作它们却很有趣，因为实际上，我想到的是卡累利阿馅饼和饺子，两者在一起有些相似之处。

5. How do you feel about Hong Kong Cuisine?

I actually um, there is a versatilities of Chinese cuisine. And so I am very much enjoyed. For Hong Kong, I like the dim sum, barbecue pork bun, siu mai, I think they are delicious. Yes. And I actually did take a course on making some glutinous rice, I took a course and it was dumplings. This was during kind of some times in April last year. Before the festival, so many of them are actually more sweet and but it was interesting to learn how to make them because actually I was think about the Karelian pie and the dumpling they are there is some similarities in together.

6. 芬兰的国花是什么？

芬兰国花是铃兰，是比较细和白色的，有毒的。 一旦花朵变成红色野果，它就是非常谦虚的花朵。 我认为这与芬兰有关，因为芬兰人很重视谦虚，所以花朵也是。 它非常漂亮，也非常谦虚，经常用于香水中。

这里有花园节，特别是在夏季开始的五月，人们喜欢园艺，我的爱好之一就是园艺。 因为我有花园，所以在芬兰也会有夏季别墅。虽然称不上真的是一个花园节日，但也会有很多摊档市集你可以去，虽然不算是很大，花园也称不上是令人印象深刻，但可以看得出我们是一群热爱大自然的人。

6.What is the national flower of Finland?

The Finland national flower is the lily-of-the-valley which is small white flower, it is poisonous. And once the flower they turn into red berries, it is a very modest flower. I think it is related to Finland as Finns are valued modesty so also the flower. It is very beautiful but very modest, used lots in perfume. Well, there are garden festivals especially in May when the summer season start and people like to do garden one of my hobbies back home is gardening.

Because I have a garden, it is popular and many people have this summer cottages which they like to. There is not really a garden festival but there are fairs where you can go to, go to but not that big idle but basically maybe the garden are not so impressive, we are more a forest people.

7.可以教我们一些芬兰俚语吗？

我们由你好开始说吧。有一些比较口语现代的方法去说你好是比较容易，因为，我先说几句有关芬兰语，芬兰语是一种困难的语言。这不是欧洲语言。所以，打招呼说你好，那就是Moi！那很简单。说再见就是moi dor。因此和你好是同一个字来的。但这只是口语。如果你想说祝你有好的一天，你可以说hyvää päivää，是比较困难的，因此很多时会简化只说 päivää。再见就是moi dor，如果你想说再见在一个正式的场合，那就是Näkemiin,，很不同的。Näkemiin,意思是我希望再次见到你。但是芬兰语是很长的，因此举例说Näkemiin,只是一个字，但英语来说便是几个字就是希望再次见到你 (see you again)，我们来说只是一个字，因此比较困难去书写和记着芬兰的文へら字。