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Flag flying days in Finland are days of the year when the national flag is flown nationwide, either by law or by custom. The flag of Finland is generally flown only on special occasions to celebrate or honour someone or something. On certain days of the year the state officially flies the flag, and recommends all private citizens to do so as well, these are the flag flying days as listed below.^[1] Any citizen has a right to fly the flag on their own property if they deem it appropriate,^[2]^[3] for example in celebration of birthdays or weddings in the family. Midsummer's day is additionally celebrated as Flag Day in Finland.

Legal enforcement

By law, the Finnish flag must be flown from public buildings on the following days.^[4] It is recommended that private citizens to also fly the flag on these days.

Date	English Name^[3]	Local Name^[2]	Remarks
28 February	Kalevala Day	Kalevalan päivä	the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of Finnish culture
1 May	Labour Day	vappu
Second Sunday in May	Mother's Day	äitienpäivä
4 June	Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces	puolustusvoimain lippujuhlan päivä	the occasion is also celebrated as the birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland
Saturday between 20 and 26 June	Midsummer Day	juhannus	the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of the Finnish Flag. The flag is hoisted on Midsummer's eve at 6 PM and flown through the night until 9 PM the next day.
Second Sunday in November	Father's Day	isänpäivä
6 December	Independence Day	itsenäisyyspäivä
Movable	Days when Finland holds parliamentary, presidential and local elections, elections to the European Parliament, or a referendum
Movable	The day the President of Finland is inaugurated	presidentin virkaanastumispäivä	1 February or 1 March in every six years

Customary flag days

It has become customary to fly the Finnish flag on the following occasions. These dates are also listed in the Finnish State Calendar compiled by the University of Helsinki, and it is recommended that the flag is flown on these occasions.^[5]

Date	English Name^[3]	Local Name^[2]	Remarks
3 February	Day of Finnish architecture and design	arkkitehtuurin ja muotoilun päivä	Birthday of Alvar Aalto^[6]
5 February	Birthday of the national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg	Runebergin päivä
19 March	Birthday of novelist and playwright Minna Canth and Day of Equality	Minna Canthin päivä or tasa-arvon päivä
9 April	Day of the Finnish language	suomen kielen päivä	On this day, Mikael Agricola, the founder of the literary Finnish language died, and Elias Lönnrot, a collector of folklore was born.
Saturday between 20 and 26 June	Midsummer Day	juhannus	Also celebrated as the Day of the Finnish Flag. The flag is hoisted on midsummer's eve at 18:00 and flown through the night until 21:00 the next day.
27 April	National Veterans' Day	kansallinen veteraanipäivä
9 May	Europe Day	Eurooppa-päivä	It is advised by the Finnish Ministry of the Interior that the European Union Flag is flown alongside the Finnish flag on this day^[7]
12 May	Day of Finnish Identity (or The Finnish Identity Day)	suomalaisuuden päivä	Birthday of the statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman
Third Sunday in May	Remembrance Day	kaatuneitten muistopäivä	A memorial day for everyone who has died in Finnish wars, combat-like duties or peacekeeping operations both during fighting and after they've ceased, including those executed or who have died as a POW.
6 July	Birthday of the poet Eino Leino	Leinon päivä	Also a celebration of poetry and summer
10 October	Birthday of the National writer Aleksis Kivi	Aleksis Kiven päivä	Also celebrated as the day of Finnish literature
24 October	United Nations Day	Yhdistyneiden Kansakuntien päivä
6 November	Finnish Swedish Heritage Day	svenska dagen or ruotsalaisuuden päivä	Coincides with Gustavus Adolphus Day in Sweden^[8]
8 December	Birthday of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius	Jean Sibeliuksen päivä	Also celebrated as the day of Finnish music^[9]

References

^ "Flag Days and Holidays – Yliopiston almanakkatoimisto". almanakka.helsinki.fi. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Liputuspäivät ja liputusajat". Sisäministeriö. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Finnish flag days – Ministry of the Interior". Sisäministeriö. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
^ Asetus liputuksesta Suomen lipulla (383/1978) Archived 31 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine. (Decree on flying the Finnish flag), 2§ as changed with decree 187/1996. Retrieved 2 June 2008. (in Finnish)
^ Vakiintuneet liputuspäivät Archived 26 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine (Customary flag days). Finnish ministry of interior affairs. Retrieved 2 June 2008. (in Finnish)
^ "News | City of Helsinki". www.hel.fi. 13 July 2023. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
^ "Liputus EU-lipulla". Sisäministeriö. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
^ "Svenska dagen". Uppslagsverket Finland. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
^ Ministry of the Interior – The days the flag is flown Archived 12 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 May 2012.