Wouldn’t it be nice to celebrate friendship every year with your best friends, mates and buddies, not only your soulmate? On Valentine’s Day, Finland is the place to be for those who appreciate their relationships with friends.
Do you remember that scene from the series Sex and the City, where Carrie and Miranda go for a Valentine’s Day dinner together since they didn’t have dates to go with? The pair is seated among the happy couples in a restaurant filled with red and pink balloons. They are the only friends who are just friendswho have gone out on thisspecial romantic day.
If Carrie and Miranda lived in Finland, no one would think it unusual to see a pair of just-friends dining together on Valentine’s Day. In Finnish, Valentine’s Day is called ystävänpäivä (literally “Friend’s Day”) and, like the name says, the idea is to celebrate friendship. Ystävänpäivä in Finland is a public declaration of friendship.
It was only as late as the 1980s that Finland started celebrating “ystävänpäivä,” and the day has been officially included in Finnish calendars since 1996. Photo: Riitta Supperi
Cards show friendship
It was only as late as the 1980s that Finland started celebrating “Friendship Day.” Ystävänpäivä has been officially included in Finnish calendars since 1996. Even though it’s a relatively young celebration in Finland, it is very popular, a much-awaited annual event, and has established its roots in Finnish culture.
The National Postal Service, Posti, also gets its share of ystävänpäivä: Valentine’s Day is the second-biggest season for cards in Finland. The Finnish Red Cross was among the first to print their own ystävänpäivä cards. In 2015 around three million cards were sent. Posti usually employs around 150 extra workers for the Valentine’s Day season.
Valentine’s Day is the second-biggest season for cards in Finland. Most of the “ystävänpäivä” cards are sent by women to their dearest friends.Photo: Riitta Supperi
Not just chocolate and roses
Ystävänpäivä festivities have steadily increased in terms of commercialisation, and social gatherings are arranged all over the country by people young and old.
Groups of friends celebrate the day over brunches and dinners all over the country. Sports activities like bowling, skating and sledding are also popular.
February 14 is celebrated as Friendship Day. People go out with their best mates or with groups of friends to have fun.Photo: Juho Kuva/Visit Finland
With all sorts of events taking place onystävänpäivä all over Finland, there’s no need to be miserable if you don’t have a “better half” by your side on Valentine’s Day. Friends are forever.
By Carina Chela and Jenita Cresswell, February 2016, updated February 2017
FAQs
Forrest Fenn's map and treasure which was recently discovered in Wyoming. It's been almost two years since Forrest Fenn's riddle was solved, and the $2 million worth of treasure he'd buried was found. Until recently, the only thing we knew about its location was that it was in Wyoming.
What clues does Finn provide for the location of the treasure? ›
The only hints he provides about the bounty's location are that it's between 5,000 and 10,200 feet in elevation, is located near trees, and that he hauled it there himself in two trips. He also states that there are 10 or so other clues hidden in a poem in his self-published book, “The Thrill of the Chase.”
What did Jack Stuef do with the treasure? ›
In September, I sold the Fenn Treasure in a private transaction. I no longer own any part of the treasure and have no financial interest in its future on the collectibles market.
What did Fenn put in his treasure chest? ›
The 10x10-inch chest, worth millions, was filled with jewelry, rare gems, ancient artifacts and, of course, gold. Fenn said he had always wanted to lure people into the wilderness and give them the opportunity to embark on an old-fashioned adventure in search of riches.
What famous treasure has never been found? ›
List
| Name | Existence | Year lost |
|---|
| The original crown jewels of England | Legend | 1216 |
| Llywelyn's coronet | Legend | 1303 |
| La Noche Triste treasure | Partially Confirmed | 1520 |
| Lost Inca gold | Partially Confirmed | circa 1533 |
45 more rowsFound in the 1980s in the town of Środa Ślaska, Poland, the Środa Treasure is a 14th-century hoard of gold and silver coins, precious stones, jewelry, and a gold crown. It is worth a cool $120 million. Workers discovered the hoard during demolition work in 1985.
Who found the million dollar hidden treasure? ›
Spencer Neuharth | Three years ago this month, Jack Stuef solved Forrest Fenn's poem and found his million-dollar treasure in Yellowstone National Park.
What inspired Fenn to finally go ahead and hide it? ›
In 1988, Fenn was diagnosed with cancer and given a prognosis that it was likely terminal. This inspired him to hide a treasure chest in an outdoor location with the purpose of creating a public search for it. He considered using the location as his final resting place as well.
What is the Fenn treasure lawsuit? ›
SANTA FE - Bruno Raphoz, a treasure hunter who lives in France, is suing Forrest Fenn's estate for $10 million, alleging the late Santa Fe art dealer deprived him of a chest filled with gold by moving the treasure after Raphoz says he solved a riddle that would lead him to the loot.
Did pirates actually dig up treasure? ›
Legends of buried pirate treasure have existed for centuries, but authenticated discoveries are rare. For example, extensive excavations on Oak Island, Nova Scotia have not yielded any treasure. The only authenticated treasure chest in the United States is kept at the Pirate Soul Museum in St. Augustine, Florida.
The online auction of items from Forrest Fenn's famed treasure chest closed on Tuesday. In total, the sale generated $1,307,946. All 476 artifacts in the collection were sold, and a total of 1,643 people placed bids for a piece of the fortune, Heritage Auctions communications director Robert Wilonsky told Outside.
Has Oak Island treasure been found? ›
Various items have surfaced over the years that were found on the island, some of which have since been dated to be hundreds of years old. Although these items can be considered treasure in their own right, no significant main treasure site has ever been found.
Who won Fenn treasure? ›
He announced that he had hidden a bronze chest filled with coins, jewelry and valuables somewhere in the middle of the Rocky Mountain range. The hunt lasted ten years. Ten long years, until a man named Jack Stuef finally got his hands on Fenn's treasure.
Has the fenn treasure been found? ›
For years, hundreds of thousands of people obsessively searched for the mysterious bronze chest filled with valuable coins, jewelry and artifacts. The adventure finally ended with Jack Stuef, a 32-year-old medical student, who found the chest at an undisclosed location in June 2020.
How did Fenn make a living in Santa Fe? ›
Now deceased, he was a Santa Fe millionaire (he made his money by running a successful art gallery) who launched the greatest treasure hunt of our time. Fenn, a stubborn and some say ornery rebel, came up with the idea of hiding a chest filled with gold and other valuables somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
Has the Rocky Mountain treasure been found? ›
After many years, one lucky hunter finally found it. It's a mystery that many thought would never be solved—including the man who started it all. For nearly a decade, a small chest full of gold coins, jewels, and other precious valuables worth between $1 million and $5 million has been hidden somewhere in the Rockies.
Has any hidden pirate treasure ever been found? ›
After sinking off the coast of Cape Cod in 1717, the ship's legendary cargo hold full of gold brought treasure hunters from around the world. The Whydah Galley, under the flag of the infamous pirate Captain Sam “Black Sam” Bellamy, is the only recovered hoard to this date. Black Sam's riches came from the slave trade.
What is the largest treasure haul ever found? ›
The largest monetary treasure haul found was on the wreck code named Black Swan, discovered by Odyssey Marine Exploration in 2007 off of Gibraltar. The salvage team reportedly found 17 tons of coins valued at $500 million; an amount that is both staggering and said to be “unprecedented” in the treasure hunting world.
