The Independence Day dance, which usually brings thousands of guests to the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, has been the most watched media event of the year in Finland for decades.
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Guests have ranged from ordinary people the president has met on tours around the country, MPs, war veterans, athletes, artists, business magnates, diplomats, rock stars and bishops – the media usually focuses on celebrity costumes and commentary.
This year’s president will host the event Sauli Niinistö and the first woman Jenni Haukio, was designed as a minimalist offer that began at 7:30 p.m., with live music and interviews.
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This is only the third time since World War II that the Presidential Palace has not filled with guests on December 6, 2020. In previous decades of Finnish independence, however, celebrations were often canceled or postponed.
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In 2013, the celebrations were held at Tampere House during the renovation of the Presidential Palace – but almost 50 years have passed since the reception was canceled.
The roots of the event can be traced to a ball held during the Porvoo Parliament in 1809, when Finland became the Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire.
Later, these balls hosted by the legislature were held in Helsinki in various places, such as the old railway station, the official residence of the Governor General in Smolna and the present Presidential Palace, then known as the Imperial Palace.
Finland gained independence from Russia in 1917, but its anniversary was not celebrated in 1918 – because December 6 was not officially designated Independence Day the following year. The first officially recorded cancellation of Independence Day reception was in 1926.
President Lauri Relander had started the tradition of the great national gala the previous year, but in December 1926 was in bed with a serious case of influenza.
In 1931, the presidential ball was withdrawn because it would have been just before the 70sth birthday party for the president P E.Svinhufvud. It was celebrated with a gala on December 15 at the National Theater, which was also an event for several public Independence Day events in other years.
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In 1932, the guest of honor at the gala of the Presidential Palace was the Prince of Sweden Gustaf Adolf, the father of the current Swedish ruler.
The Presidential Palace celebrations were canceled in 1933, when Finland was in control of the economic depression, as well as in the war years of 1939–44, when Helsinki was frequently bombed.
In 1943, however, a smaller scale was held in Turku, which was considered a safer place.
President Risto Ryti, Prime Minister Edwin Linkomies and others traveled by train to Turku. A public event was held at the fire brigade headquarters, followed by a celebration at the Seurahuone Hotel.
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Chief of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal CGE Mannerheim, was also expected, but apparently stayed away due to security issues.
Mannerheim became president the following year, but he did not hold Independence Day celebrations during his tenure, which lasted less than two years.
In 1944, the party was withdrawn due to the Lapland War between Finland and Nazi Germany, and the following December, Mannerheim was ill. He stepped away a few months later.
In December 1946, his successor JK Paasikivi, hosts the reception. He, too, had to cancel one celebration, in 1952, due to illness.
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He was succeeded in 1956 Urho Kekkonen, which ruled until 1982, hosted nearly two dozen Independence Day balls as Finland entered the television era.
In 1972, the palace was renovated, so the celebrations were held in the Finlandia House, which was completed the previous year. In 1974, the gala was canceled as the president’s wife, Sylvi Kekkonen, had died just four days earlier.
Seven years later, in 1981, Urho Kekkonen was seriously ill and had already said he was resigning. In any case, the celebration was held at Finlandia Hall, and the Deputy Prime Minister welcomed it Eino Uusitalo. Among the guests was the Prime Minister Mauno Koivisto, who was already standing for Kekkonen and hosting the next gala as president himself.
It began more than three decades into a traditional presidential palace under President Koivisto. Martti Ahtisaari and Tarja Halonen – President Sauli Niinistö’s second Independence Day, when the celebration was held in Tampere, and this year’s exceptional, cut-off event.
Source: The Nordic Page