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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Emma Beddington

The Finns hold the secret of happiness – and it is not what you might expect

A happy Finn …
A happy Finn … Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images

I’m loth to share this, because I want to win myself, but Visit Finland is running a competition to take part in a “happiness masterclass”. It’s not as good as last year’s Icelandic tourist board initiative where you could get their shaggy little horses to write you an out-of-office email by walking on a giant keyboard, but having recently described myself as having “no talent for happiness”, I’m keen.

Confirmed this month as the happiest place in the world for the sixth year running, Finland, the country with a word for getting drunk alone in your underwear (päntsdrunk, or kalsarikännit), is offering the rest of us a chance to learn the secrets of highly contented Finns.

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