Finnish Independence Day is a very somber event, which is used as a day to commemorate the soldiers who died in the various wars against the Russians/USSR. No barbecues, drinking later in the evening, not starting at noon. The primary event of the evening is watching the President's Ball- effectively three hours of the President and his wife shaking the hands of foreign dignitaries, Finnish celebrities, and some politicians. That is followed by the 1954, 3 hour long movie "The Unknown Soldier", about the Finnish campaigns in WW2 against the Russians. As you can see, the dynamic is rather different in Finland when they celebrate independence.
Finnish Prom is rather different from American prom, in many ways. I shall list them: 1) girls ask guys, as there are more girls in Finnish schools than boys; 2) you dance traditional/formal dances that are choreographed beforehand; 3) there are no romantic interests involved whatsoever- all of this is a practical arrangement. So no crappy 80's/90's movie moments in Finland.
The girl who asked me had already asked at least one guy (who already had a partner) and then ambushed me as I was going home, about a week before the dance lessons started. Exchange students are the last resort apparently.
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