December 6 is Independence Day in Finland, commemorating the anniversary of the adoption of Finland's 1917 declaration of independence from the Russian Empire after then-recent revolutions in Russia, especially that of the Bolsheviks the same year.

Traditionally, families light two candles in each window of their home in the evening. Before independence, this custom was done on poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg's birthday (February 5) in silent protest against Russian oppression and, according to popular legend, was used as a way to mark safehouses for young Finnish men as they snuck off to Sweden and Germany during WWI to become Jägers, Finnish independence fighters trained by Germany to destabilize Russia's grip on its western territories.

More Information

Independence Day (Finland) (Wikipedia))

Also see

• December (month)