Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää, rakas Suomi! (December 6th)
(I do not own the audio and pictures presented in the video!)
"Maamme" (Finnish: [ˈmɑːmːe]), known by its original Swedish title as "Vårt land" (Finland Swedish: [ˈvoːrt ˈlɑnːd]) and in English as "Our Land", is the de facto national anthem of Finland. The music was composed by the German immigrant Fredrik Pacius, with original Swedish lyrics by Johan Ludvig Runeberg. It was first performed on 13 May 1848. Originally, it was written for the 500th anniversary of Porvoo, and for that occasion it was Runeberg himself who wrote the music.
The melody of "Maamme" is also used for two other anthems: the Estonian anthem "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm" ("My Fatherland, My Happiness and Joy") and the Livonian anthem "Min izāmō" ("My Fatherland").
There is no law regarding an official national anthem in Finland, in the way the coat of arms and flag of Finland are legally defined. Instead, its position has been established gradually by convention over the years. In 2018, "Maamme" was described by the Government of Finland as the "Finnish national anthem".
Even though "Maamme" has become established as the de facto anthem, its status has still been debated from time to time. It has been suggested that the status of "Maamme" as the national anthem should be legalised. For example, opposing legislative initiatives were made in 2003 by the Finnish Parliament to make "Maamme" and the Finlandia Hymn the official national anthem. In 2014, there was a citizens' initiative about choosing the Finlandia Hymn as the national anthem, and in 2016 members of the National Coalition Party began campaigning to stop using "Maamme" in favour of the Finlandia Hymn, however, opinions were not unanimous in the party, and the campaign fell short of its goal.
Despite the lack of official status, in usage, "Maamme" fills the function of a national anthem in the same way as in many other countries. For example, it is played during state visits, and used to represent Finland at international sporting fixtures.
In 2024, the Indonesian composer and pianist Ananda Sukarlan wrote "Findolandesia" for violin and piano. The piece was written to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Finland and Indonesia. "Findolandesia" intertwines melodies from "Maamme" and "Tanah Airku", a patriotic Indonesian song by songwriter Saridjah Niung and then made into a kind of fantasy / variations on the original motifs. It was premiered by the composer on the piano and young Indonesian violinist Aurell Marcella in Jakarta, in a concert hosted by Bimasena and the Finnish Embassy in Jakarta.
The original lyrics consist of eleven verses, but it is customary to only sing the first verse and the last verse unless the people gathered are mixed Finnish- and Swedish-speaking. In the latter case, three verses are sung: the first in Finnish, the first in Swedish and the last in Finnish.