Midsummer celebrated in traditional way
Midsummer was celebrated in Finland in a traditional manner. The festival of the nightless night was staged, for example, in Pyhätunturi in Finnish Lapland with a flag raising ceremony.
In the capital Helsinki, many enjoyed the delights of bathing in a tent sauna on the shores of Töölönlahti Lake. A traditional midsummer bonfire was also lit on the island of Seurasaari in Helsinki.
Young people flocked to various venues, the most popular of which is the Himos festival staged in Jämsä in central Finland. An estimated 40,000 people turned up to watch performances by major Finnish pop artists.
It was the end of a tradition, though, at Kauhava where the Midnight Air Show was staged for the last time. The show dates back to 1945 when the Finnish Air Force Training Air Wing (Lentosotakoulu) personnel organized the first midsummer air show.
The tradition ends with the closure of the Training Air Wing in 2014.
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