Finland celebrates 100 years of independence: ten fast facts

Buildings around the world will be lit up to celebrate the Northern European nation’s anniversary

Spectators watch the Liiga ice hockey match from a sauna box in Helsinki.
Spectators watch a Liiga (professional Finnish league) ice hockey match from a sauna at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki
(Image credit: Photo credit OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Finland celebrates its 100th birthday today, having declared independence from Russia on 6 December 1917, during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Countries around the world will also mark a century of Finnish independence, with light displays in blue and white - Finland’s national colours - at landmarks including Rome’s Colosseum, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer and Canada’s Niagara Falls.

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