March 22, 2022 – Finland

For the 5th year in a row, Finland has been named in the World Happiness Report as the World’s Happiest Country! Finland was largely an agrarian country until after World War II, when the country experienced rapid industrialization and developed an advanced economy. It built an extensive welfare state, which resulted in widespread prosperity and a high per capita income.
The Finns are huge fans of the sauna. There are over 3 million saunas there! It’s not only a form of relaxation but the heat has been traditionally used to cure or treat many different diseases.  Nearly all Finnish houses have a sauna!
Finland has around 168,000 lakes and 179,000 lakes. One of their lakes, Lake Saimaa, is home to the Saimaa Ringed Seal. It’s the only place in the world these highly endangered seals live, and there are only around 380 that live there today. It’s one of the few freshwater seal species.
Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland, is the most popular tourist destination. It sits above the Arctic Circle and experiences polar night in the winter and midnight sun in the summer. It’s also so far north that you can see the Northern Lights there on a regular basis during the fall, winter, and spring.
Some interesting sports have originated in Finland. The country is home to the Wife Carrying World Championship, where male participants compete in a special obstacle course while carrying their wife (or female teammate). The goal is to finish the course the quickest, and the prize for the winner is beer worth the weight of his wife. Finland has also held the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championship every year since 2000. It’s exactly what it sounds like – contestants throw their mobile phones and are judged on distance or technique. The world record is currently 362.3 feet, which was set in 2014. Learn more here.