The Finnish landscape is a blue-green mosaic of waterways and forests with plenty of room to move and seemingly endless wide open spaces. The country is among Europe's largest in terms of land area, though one of its smallest in terms of population. Around 70% of the land area is covered by forest and 10% by water. Finland has around 200,000 lakes and the country is home to the Europe’s largest archipelago.
Finland is characterised by four clearly defined seasons. Summer is a time of light when – at the season’s height – the sun only dips below the horizon for a couple of hours and the night is nothing more than a delicate twilight. In Lapland, in the northernmost parts of Finland, the midnight sun is permanently visible for around a couple of months during June and July. These nights where it never gets dark are celebrated towards the end of June during the Juhannus mid-summer festivities, when large bonfires are traditionally lit and love spells are cast. Many Finns virtually move out to their summer cottages during the summer months. Crayfish parties are held towards the end of the summer during August's warm and darker evenings.
Autumn is the time of harvests, berry-picking and collecting mushrooms. Autumn is also the time of the "Ruska", when the leaves change colour dramatically into a sea of bright reds and golden yellows presaging the arrival of the rains and snow. The darkest time of the year is around November, when the leaves have fallen, but the rain has not yet turned to snow that will later reflect light.
In the north, snow can settle around the end of October or early November, while in the south this will not happen until early December. Winter is also the time of the polar night when the sun does not rise above the horizon in the north of the country at all for several months.
Christmas is a great family festival with rich traditions. As everyone knows, Father Christmas lives in Finnish Lapland and makes personal visits to many families – or simply leaves presents under the Christmas tree! The spring period from February to April is the best time to be outdoors: the snow is firm and the sun reappears. The arrival of summer is marked with carnival-style celebrations including the traditional students' and workers' festival on May Day, or Vappu.