So what makes people happy? How can Finland be the Happiest Country? How can a country where some people don’t see the sun rise for 51 days be happy? One of our FHM couples, Rob and Kathleen Hilston decided to explore those questions and more on one of their recent trips to Finland. After all, if you have spent two months in the last two years visiting Finland, you want to find out what everybody is saying.

First of all, this is the ninth year in a row that Finland has been named the happiest country in the world. The United Nations pays for Oxford and Gallup to collect this information. Here we are in the United States and I am sorry to say we have not even made the top twenty happiest countries in the world. So where does the US rank? It is placed at 23rd out of 140 countries. Maybe in college you learned about Dan Buettner’s work on the Blue Zones of Happiness. His core concepts were pleasure (joy), purpose (engagement), and pride (satisfaction). This UN study asks one question of its respondents. How would you rate your life satisfaction. Hmm. Try that now. How would you rate your life satisfaction? Finns who were asked this question scored life satisfaction at the highest rate even though they pay more taxes and in parts of Finland the sun doesn’t rise for 51 days. They overall trust their government, media and 80% feel their taxes are spent well. They get to spend their life in a country full of nature in clean and safe spaces.

So, what about their taxes? Every year on November 8th the Finns have a Public Tax Transparency Day. Everyone’s taxes are published and if you happen to be unlucky enough to get a traffic ticket for speeding, the police use that number to issue your ticket. Yes, everyone pays a percentage of their income for traffic tickets. If you make a lot of money, you will pay a lot. If you make a little, you will pay a little. So, if you’re a visitor, you might want to make use of the many ways to travel in Finland including metro, cab, uber, etc. Want a little Door Dash? Try Wolt.

When you first arrive in the Helsinki airport, you will hear beautiful sounds of nature. That’s right, they pipe in nature sounds. This will begin your vacation with mellow sounds and perhaps you will go and check out where the 1952 Olympic Games were played. Feeling like a little beverage? How about a stop at Cafe Regatta for some Kahvia and hopefully one of their bestsellers, kovapuisto (a cinnamon Rolle) or blueberry pie with vanilla sauce. If you close your eyes you can almost see those blueberries deep in the custard and the warm vanilla sauce atop it.

Want to meet some of the locals and talk about why they’re happy? Try out the Library Oodi in Helsinki where you can relax, make a podcast or a move demo, play a musical instrument in one of the practice rooms, play board games, or just sit outside and enjoy a snack and the beautiful weather. Oh, you must of course try out a sauna. In this beautiful country of 5.6 million people there are approximately 3 million saunas. Many employers also have saunas and many go to sauna after work (4PM) to wind down. Now, here in the United States we think about the number of people who go to church regularly. In comparison to Finland, where churchgoing is about 5% of the population, here in the United States it is 26%. But that doesn’t mean the churches are not gorgeous. Rock Church is a beautiful church built into the rock. But perhaps most astonishingly, right in the middle of the City Center is the Silent Chapel. You go in and sit and there is complete silence.

You might wonder then whether Finns enjoy cartoons, literature, etc. Well, not only do they enjoy cartoons but you will soon see the national love for Donald Duck from the World of Disney and in the past several years Moomin characters have sprouted up on everything from bags and clothing to dishes, lamps, etc. No Finnish kitchen is complete without Moomin mugs. While you’re in Helsinki you can see the apartment where Tove Jansson worked on her art, including murals, etc. of Finland with a Moomin tucked in. And of course not far away, in Tampere, you can visit the Moomin museum.

After a long day visiting museums and talking (though this is not a Finnish custom - but many Americans do like to talk - it’s time to settle down for a sauna and perhaps a glass of a citrus gin called Long Drink. By the way, when you get back home, you can have one too from the grocery store.

So, as you can see, Finns have many reasons to go through life with a glass half full. The Hilstons will soon be going back for another relaxing trip to Finland. They encourage you to go too!