Finland
Russia, Estonia and Sweden.(www.wikipedia.org)
6
Traditions and culture
Finnish culture has been greatly influenced by the cultures of neighbours, particulary
Sweden. Large numbers of ern coasts of Finland during the Middle Ages and Swedish is still
an important language in the country. Much of Finnish literature before the mid-nineteenth
century was written in Swedis. However with the rise of Finnish nationalismfrom about the
1840s, great impetus was given to the Finnish literary movement. Many distinguished works
have been written in Finnish, including those by the contemporary authors Sillanpaa, Waltari
and Jotuni. Some authors prefer tom write in Swedish, thereby reaching a larger public. The
Finns have also been strongly influenced by German music. Since the late nineteenth
century, however, conscious attempts to produce an indigenous Finnish music have been
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