RIYADH — European cultural month is currently under progress in Riyadh, several embassies of the European Union are taking part in the monthlong activities in presenting their diverse cultures to visitors about their traditional clothes, folkloric, arts, science and nature, noting that these cultures vary from state to state and each one has its own unique character. Finland Embassy took part in the exhibition of European National dresses especially arranged at the Kingdom mall. The Finnish Ambassador Pekka Voutilainen with his wife visited the exhibition, and DHM Vilma Peltonen accompanied the ambassador to the expo. Briefing on the occasion the Finnish Ambassador Voutilainen said, "I am happy in taking part in the European cultural month. It happens every year, and the theme of this year is the national dresses. And the Nordic national dresses were specially shipped from Helsinki to Riyadh and I am really feeling proud at this moment because this year we are celebrating 100 years of our independence." "We have lot of commercial activity going on between the two countries, a strong delegation of 50 Saudi businessmen headed by the deputy minister of commerce and later this month more than 120 Saudi teachers will go to Finland for training," he added. Pekka further elaborated about the history of the dresses. "The national and traditional dresses we have brought for this exhibition are centuries old and represents different regions of the country." The national dress of Orimattila comes from the Päijänne Tavastia region, area in central Finland and it is formed based on the dresses worn in the region during the 19th century. Nowadays national dresses are worn mostly during festive events, such as birthdays and weddings, but the designs are combinations of clothes worn both in everyday life and celebrations in the past. Orimattila's costume combines wool, cotton and silk, the headdress is called "cannon-bonnet", the silk scarf worn on the shoulders can be either white or blue. This dress was designed by Tyyni Vahter in the 1950s based on traditional men's clothing worn in Valkeala. Valkeala is part of Kymenlaakso region in the South-Eastern Finland. Kymenlaakso is famous for the river Kymijoki, which is one of the biggest rivers in Finland with a drainage basin 11% of the area of Finland. Tuuteri dress dates back to the era when Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire and called the Grand Duchy of Finland (1809-1917). The first design of the dress of Tuuteri was made by Theodor Schvindt in the 1890s. It has the characters of a full dress (formal festive dress) worn by women in Tuuteri village, which is located in the historical area of Ingria, near St. Petersburg. The dress from Rovaniemi presents the national dress traditions from the Lapland and West-coast region of Finland. During 18th and 19th century the pieces of clothing were made of precious fabrics and sewed meticulously to last for a life-time. Rovaniemi, where the dress comes from, is the biggest city and commercial center of the northernmost region of Finland, Lapland and it is located only 10 kilometers below the Arctic Circle. Situated at 66°33'46.7" Northern Latitude, Arctic Circle is the limit above which in the mid-winter the sun does not rise and above which in the summer you can enjoy the endless midnight sun! The exhibition attracts many as it is considered to be the first ever exhibition of such a kind here.
