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EVEN remote Finland cannot withstand progress forever.

  The parades and other pageantry at many of Finland's festivals are taking on a distinctly international and modern flavour.

  Moreover, festivals traditionally enjoyed at home by members of the family are giving way to celebrations organised by peers.

  However, tradition is not always forgotten and usually blends harmoniously with new forms of celebration.

  ''Vappu'' is one such festival.

  Celebrated on May Day, Vappu combines an age old European celebration of the spring with modern street carnival, traditional Finnish student revelry and, according to the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ''the Finnish style enthusiasm for drinking''.

  Friendship Day is another example of an international festival adapted to Finnish tastes.

  Based on St Valentine's Day, Friendship Day has become popular among deserving causes to raise money in Finland.

  However, the occasion is also coming under criticism for being too commercial.

  Commercialism is at the root of Mother's Day although this is also a family occasion as the name suggests.

  Imported from the United States at the start of the century, Mother's Day took on major significance in Finland following the country's civil war in 1918 and after World War II when many Finnish mothers had become widows.

  Although Mother's Day has declined in popularity, the President of Finland continues to hand out medals to deserving mothers on the day.

  Christmas has been accused of being too commercial the world over, but, in Finland, the home of Santa Claus, a number of local traditions continue and the celebration remains a family occasion.

  Family saunas are common and a pagan ceremony of pouring molten tin into water to foretell the future is still practised in homes throughout the country.

  Whereas Christmas is held at the darkest time of the year in Finland, so the Midsummer festival is celebrated on the country's longest day.

  Bonfires are lit throughout the country and the national flag is flown everywhere, too, in a patriotic celebration of the countryside.

  Easter has retained its strong religious character in Finland but some traditional local practices have died out.

  However, one 19th century tradition was revived in the 1980s - children dressing up as Easter witches. In a new custom, the children go to houses dressed in their costumes collecting money and sweets.

  One festival that is undeniably Finnish is the country's National Day.

  Once marked by sombre speeches and church services, the occasion is now a lively affair of student torch parades and other festivities at which rock stars and entertainers are heralded as champions of Finnish patriotism.



Progress blends with old rituals