14. PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 2001-2002
The following public holidays are celebrated annually in Finland. Please note
that the dates of some holidays vary from year to year, and the following dates
are for 2001-2002. On these holidays, shops and banks are usually closed and
even on the eve of a public holiday, Saturday opening hours are usually followed.
| November
3 December 6 December 25 December 26 January 1 January 6 March 29 March 31-April 1 May 1 May 9 May 19 June 22 |
All
Saints' Day (Pyhäinpäivä) Independence Day (Itsenäisyyspäivä), since 1917 Christmas Day (Joulu) Boxing Day (Tapaninpäivä) New Year's Day (Uudenvuodenpäivä) Epiphany (Loppiainen) Good Friday (Pitkäperjantai) Easter (Pääsiäinen) May Day (Vappu) Ascension Day (Helatorstai) Whit Sunday (Helluntai) Midsummer Day (Juhannuspäivä) |
15. ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
15.1 TIME ZONE
The Finnish time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. There is only one
time zone covering the whole country.
Summertime/Daylight savings time (kesäaika) is used from the last Sunday
of March to the last Sunday of October. In 2001, the clocks will be set back
one hour on Sunday, October 28 at 4 a.m.
In 2002, the clocks
will be set ahead one hour on Sunday, March 31 at 3 a.m. and set back one hour
on Sunday, October 27 at 4 a.m.
15.2 ELECTRICITY
The electrical current in Finland is 220V (230V), 50Hz. Plugs are the two-pin
continental size.
15.3 MEASUREMENTS
In Finland the unit of measurement is the metric system.
15.5 TIPPING
Tips are customary only for hotel and restaurant doormen and porters. A service
charge is automatically included in most hotel and restaurant bills. Barbers,
hairdressers and taxi-drivers do not expect tips.
15.6 SMOKING
The non-smoking policy is very usual in Finland, meaning that smoking is prohibited
in public facilities (schools, trains, hospitals, busses, etc.). Hotels, bars
and restaurants can have smoke free rooms and areas for customers. Most trains
have carriages or special rooms for those who wish to smoke.