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Finland is one of the five Nordic Countries. Finland is in the Northern part of Europe. It shares borders with Russia to the east, Norway to the north, Sweden to the west, and Estonia to the south. A quarter of Finland’s territory lies within the Arctic Circle. Much of the geography of Finland is a result of the Ice Age. The glaciers were thicker and lasted longer compared with the rest of Europe. Their eroding effects have left the Finnish landscape mostly flat with few hills. The country having been compressed under the enormous weight of the glaciers has caused Finland to expand by about 7 square kilometers annually. Relatively speaking, Finland is rising from the sea.
Approximately about 10% of the country is lakes, rivers, and ponds, and 78% is forest. In the northernmost part of the country, the Northern Lights can be seen in the winter and the midnight sun in the summer, and are characterized by warm summers and freezing winters. Finns also claim the mythical mountain of Korvatunturi as the home of Santa Claus.
Finland was first inhabited around the end of the last glacial period, approximately around 9000 BC. The artifacts of the first settlers left behind present characteristics that are similar to other cultures in the Baltic region. The discovered items suggest that the earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools.
The 12th and 13th centuries were a violent time in the northern Baltic Sea. Armed conflict between the Baltic neighbors had been common for several centuries before the northern crusades undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, against the pagan Baltic. As a result of the colonization by Sweden of some Finnish coastal areas and the Swedish catholic crusades, the legacy of which is reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language used in the country.
The majority of Finnish of its population live in the central and south of the country and speak Finnish, a Finnic language of the Uralic language family, which is unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Swedish is the second official language of Finland and is mainly spoken in certain coastal areas of the country.
Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries (such as bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food, drink, or in various recipes. According to the statistics, the Finns eat less beef than many other nations, and more fish and poultry. This is mainly because of the high cost of meat in Finland. The Karelian pasty is a traditional Finnish dish made from rye crust with a filling of rice and butter.
(Information from Wikipedia)