Flag days in Finland

On our Finnish calendar there are are small flags on 16 of the days.

By law, the Finnish flag must be flown from public buildings on the following days:
*February 28, day of Kalevala; the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of Finnish culture
*May 1, Labour Day
*Second Sunday in May, Mother's Day
*June 4, birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland; the occasion is also celebrated as the Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces
*Saturday between June 20 and 26 June, Midsummer Day; the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of the Finnish Flag
*December 6, Independence Day
Days when Finland holds parliamentary and local elections, elections to the *European Parliament, or a referendum
*The day the President of Finland is inaugurated

It has also become customary to fly the Finnish flag on the following occasions: (The dates are also listed in the Finnish State Calendar compiled by the University of Helsinki, and it is recommended that the flag is flown on these occasions in the same way as on those prescribed by law.)
*February 5, birthday of poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg
*April 9, the day Mikael Agricola, the founder of the written Finnish language died and Elias Lönnrot, a collector of folklore was born; the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of the Finnish language
*April 27, National War Veterans' Day
*May 12, birthday of the statesman Johan Vilhelm Snellman
*July 6, birthday of the poet Eino Leino; the occasion is also a celebration of poetry and summer
*October 10, birthday of the writer Aleksis Kivi; the occasion is also celebrated as the Day of Finnish literature
*October 24, Day of the United Nations
*November 6, Day of the Swedish Identity
*Second Sunday in November, Fathers Day

Did you catch that the flag must be flown on Mother's Day but it is only recommended to be flown on Father's Day? I think the flag on the President's Palace is always flown.

President's flag 

President's Palace -- all wrapped up 

Spring! Finally. Passed these during our walk recently. 

Took a stroll through embassy row

We took a stroll in Helsinki down by the harbor and then through the area where many of the embassies are located. We don't recognize very many countries' flags. For most of them we had to walk up close to the buildings and read the brass plates. But it was nice to see our own flag waving in the strong breezes that day. We took a succession of pictures just trying to capture a picture with the flag fully unfurled. After waving to the person who was stationed in a guard booth, he called the police. A police van came. And then a Finnish man from embassy security came up to us and told us we were not allowed to take any pictures of the embassy for security reasons. The real security people are inside the compound compliments of the U.S. Marine Corps.

A reminder of home 

U.S. flag and eagles outside U.S. embassy 

Saw this while taking a walk

The signs on this building made us smile. The businesses operating in this building are, from left to right: a driving school, a bar, and funeral services. How ironic!

An odd combination of services in the same building