The Finnish Tradition of Drinking In Your Underwear
Winters in Finland are cold, cold and dark. Temperatures range between -22 and -3 degrees celsius. The north has two months without seeing the sun, while the southern part sees only around six hours of daylight over this period.
For exactly these reasons the Fins seriously consider staying in rather than socialising with friends and have been doing so before social distancing or nationwide lockdowns. So it makes perfect sense that staying home in the comfort of your underwear and getting lit has matured into an age-old Finnish tradition.
It's called kalsarikännit which translates to "The feeling when you are going to get drunk home alone in your underwear – with no intention of going out."
Kalsarikännit is a customizable concept but the basic guideline is simple:
Solitude (people you’re self-isolating with are fine)
A comfortable space to relax in with no plans of leaving
Adorning your comfiest sweats/ lack thereof
Drinking whatever you like
The simplest way to know you’re practising kalsarikännit like a Finnish citizen is by grabbing a drink, stripping down to your comfiest (undoubtedly oldest, most worn-in, hideous, detested-by-partner) pair of undies, and knocking back your poison of choice while bingeing on your favourite series or book - or, like most of us, going down a never-ending meme rabbit hole.
All of us are juggling this new reality and the still-not-fully-known impacts for COVID-19. Business has slowed, our economy has been downgraded to junk status, people from all walks of life are losing their jobs and income whilst we all come together to protect one another and flatten the curve.
As the world faces an unprecedented global pandemic where police checkpoints, military patrols and keeping two metres between yourself and the next person is the new normal, there has never been a better time to take up some self-care tips from some of the happiest people on the planet.
So next time somebody tells you to "Get off the couch, put on some pants and be more productive" - tell them you are in fact very busy experiencing another country’s culture - and cheers to them for inventing it.