Candles lit in remembrance during rowdy New Year celebration

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In spite of the exceptional nature of the circumstances, with Finland entering the New Year in official mourning and under flags at half-staff, rockets started to be sent up around half past five in the afternoon of New Year’s Eve. Like at any other New Year, the sound of fireworks became louder towards midnight.
      In Helsinki, an intense rattle of fireworks was carried over from the adjacent Market Square while a crowd of silent people - some carrying candles - had turned up to listen to a traditional New Year’s speech by Mayor Eva-Riitta Siitonen in the Senate Square.
     
At the Finnish Science Centre Heureka’s traditional New Year’s event in Vantaa, dancing and fireworks were arranged for families in the same way as in any other year. However, feelings were subdued compared with the previous year, and fewer guests were attending the amusement and theme park.
      While many municipalities had cancelled their traditional New Year fireworks, Heureka wanted to cheer up children amidst the sorrow and mourning. Many parents shared the view.
      For the taxi-drivers in Helsinki the evening was a quiet one, whereas police and the rescue services experienced an ordinary turn of the year.
      However, according to Roger Sundelin from the City of Helsinki’s Youth Department, the number of young people who needed help was at a record low compared with previous years.


Links:
  Youth Department, City of Helsinki
  Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre

Helsingin Sanomat