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ISSUE 51 (231) • 22 DECEMBER 2011 – 4 JANUARY 2012 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI Manglani - Pohjoisesplanadi 37, 00100 Helsinki • tel. +358 040 540 6647 • [email protected] • www.manglani.fi The most comprehensive ’Tailor-made’ program for a personalized suit with accents that make your suit simply unique and totally made by you. Manglani - Pohjoisesplanadi 37, 00100 Helsinki • tel. +358 040 540 6647 • [email protected] • www.manglani.fi ISSUE 51 (231) • 22 DECEMBER 2011 – 4 JANUARY 2012 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI Officials expect Postponing the peace a tough 2012 Turku’s enduring Peace Throughout its long history, there have been a number of interrup- for economy tions in the Christmas Peace: The tradition of reading the Christmas Peace from the balcony of the Brinkkala • During the Great Northern War of 1712-1721. DAVID J. CORD HELSINKI TIMES mansion in the Old Great Square of Turku has had a centuries-long, and often • During the transition from colourful history. Swedish to Russian Rule in 1809, and apparently for a few BOTH the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Finland have issued a years afterwards. • In 1876, owing to the excep- gloomy prediction for the Finnish EEVA NIKKILÄ-KIIPULA – STT economy. In separate statements, HT tionally cold winter the Peace the two institutions announced was read inside the Brinkkala mansion to aldermen, instead that they expect growth to be at an CHRISTMAS for many begins on the insipid 0.4 per cent next year. Eve, after the traditional declaring of the traditional reading from “The forecast is based on the as- of the Christmas Peace in Turku. the balcony of the mansion to the people congregated in the sumption that the euro area debt Many may be unaware of the length LEHTIKUVA / RONI LEHTI crisis will not get any worse and the of tradition behind this ceremony, Old Great Square of Turku. This slowdown in growth in both the eu- which has been carried out since caused some indignation in the ro area and the global economy will the 1300s. local press. be relatively short-lived,” said Bank The wording of the declaration • A rebellion took place among Governor Erkki Liikanen. “The as- and the other elements of the cere- the militia at Christmas time in sumption contains a clear downside mony have changed over time, but 1917. The Russian military sta- risk for the forecast.” the basic message has remained tioned a machine gun on the Liikanen went on to warn that constant, as has the practice of read- balcony of the Brinkkala man- the downturn could signifi cant- ing the declaration publicly. This sion on Christmas Eve, and pre- ly impact public fi nances. He espe- was essential in the Middle Ages, vented the Magistrate of Turku cially wanted to see steps to prolong since the majority of the population from reading the Peace. working careers and reforms to was illiterate. The original purpose • The ceremony was cancelled boost labour productivity in the of the declaration was to commu- during the Winter War in 1939, public sector. nicate rules of conduct to the local for fear of the congregation be- The warnings come when Fin- populace, in addition to the religious ing bombed by the Soviets. land is otherwise enjoying some message. good news. Statistics Finland an- The combination of religious The traditional declaration of the Christmas Peace takes place in Turku at 12 nounced that in November the un- content and behavioural instruc- noon on Christmas Eve. The declaration will be aired on TV1 and it can also be employment rate was at 6.2 per tions remains: listeners are told to followed via Yle’s web service. cent, down almost a full percent- celebrate Christmas “with the ap- age point from last year. This is low- propriate piety” and to behave “qui- precisely this period, when a puri- ished with greater severity than er than any of Finland’s neighbours: etly and peacefully” otherwise also. tanical form of Lutheranism was usual. Estonia has 10.9, Russia 6.5 and in force throughout the Kingdom of Violation of the Christmas Peace Sweden 6.7 per cent unemployed. Harsh rules Sweden. The behaviour of the sub- carried heavy fi nes: failure to observe More good news came from the The oldest surviving word-for-word jects of the Crown was closely scru- the seasonal prohibition on the sale of eurozone on Tuesday, when Spain instructions from the declaration tinised, with alcohol consumption alcohol, for instance, incurred a fi ne had a wildly successful bond auc- of the Christmas Peace are from being eyed with especial vigour. of 40 silver Marks, over 200 euros in tion. The average yield fell from the end of the seventeenth centu- Several different periods of today’s money. By the 1830s, the fi ne their previously monstrous heights, ry. They urge the citizens of Turku peace were enforced throughout for the same offence had risen to the showing that there is once again a to celebrate respectfully and “re- the Swedish kingdom – of which equivalent of over 300 euros. The Christmas Peace continues to demand for Spanish debt. The euro frain from excessive eating, exces- Finland would of course remain The Christmas Peace retained be read from a scroll of reindeer currency, which had been weaken- sive drinking, and all other Vices.” a part until 1809. The Christmas its legal status as a distinct period vellum made by artist Tauno Tor- ing against the dollar, jumped by al- The most detailed orders on how Peace was just one of these “peac- of peace until 1889, when it was re- po in 1956. most one per cent on the good news. to celebrate Christmas date from es” during which crimes were pun- moved from the legislature. On substantive questions, the will- ingness and ability to work for clos- HBL: Finns want a patriotic, er cooperation with the other Nordic countries and to maintain good re- multilingual president lations with Russia were the two top priorities for over half of respondents. STT, HT The survey was carried out last The majority considered the week. These desiderata came top President’s primary task to be rep- of the list in a survey carried out by resenting the country as head of FINNS WANT the next President of the paper. Patriotism was the num- state, and leading the country’s for- the Republic to be a patriotic but ber one requirement for almost half eign policy in cooperation with the fair-minded statesperson with of the respondents, but very few at- Council of State. The prerogative good language skills, the Swedish- tached any importance to wheth- to grant a pardon to prisoners was language newspaper Hufvudstads- er the next head of state would be considered the least important of bladet reported on Sunday. male or female. all presidential functions. Helsinki Times wishes all readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The next issue of the paper will be published on 5 January 2012. For daily news, please visit our website at www.helsinkitimes.fi KESKUSKATU 4, HELSINKI The opening hours of most shops will be affected by Christmas and New Year P. 044-740 3385, Mon-Fri 10-19, Sat 10-16 holidays. For general information about changes in business hours and public Find your local retailer www.tillander.fi transportation, see our Christmas memo on page 7. 2 22 DECEMBER 2011 – 4 JANUARY 2012 VIEWPOINT HELSINKI TIMES Helsinki Times will publish Viewpoints from each of the presidential candidates from now until 19 January, three days before the presidential election. Next Viewpoint is by Timo Soini (PS). Introducing Sari Essayah Unlike the other seven presidential candidates, Sari Essayah became known to the Finnish public through other means than politics. The Christian Democrats’ (CD) Finnish-Moroccan candidate became a household name in the early 1990s while representing Finland in athletics, winning bronze and gold in the 1991 and 1993 world championships’ 10 km walking races respectively. Essayah brought her sporting career to an end in 1996, around which time she joined the CD. She was elected to Parliament in 2003 and worked for three years as the party’s parlia- mentary group chairperson before becoming the CD’ party secretary in 2007. Then in 2009 she was elected to the European Parliament as the CD’ only MEP. In the realm of foreign affairs, the Finnish President’s primary domain, Essayah has a par- ticular interest in Middle Eastern and North African affairs and, for instance, has spoken out against UN membership for Palestine. Sari Essayah Presidential candidate for the Christian Democrats but an economic union that fl ict-affl icted areas. Finland strongly encourages and sup- has much to offer economi- ports people and enterprise. cally underdeveloped coun- Steps towards greater social cohesion Decision-making in the EU has tries, for example in the to be put back in the hands of development of education its citizens. Finnish EU policy systems and nurturing of needs to be more open and re- good governance. It’s time to fare forward towards a more responsible future in which each and every person spectful of our domestic sov- is cared for as they are, says the Christian Democrats’ presidential contender Sari Essayah. ereignty than it has been in THERE ARE other avenues for the past. This does not mean active Finnish membership shutting the door against the of the international commu- I JOINED the presidential I GREW up with a disabled al decline. In the private sector, sifying that crisis in the long outside world, though: the EU nity also, and it is by taking campaign because of my con- foster-sister, and since 2004 the grey market and tax eva- run.