A group in Norway is going extreme with gift-giving this year after launching a campaign to give part of a mountain to Finland, according to CNN. The gesture, which would take place by 2017, would mark the 100-year anniversary of Finnish independence.
Halti is Finland's tallest mountain at 4,479 feet, but the peak lies inside Norwegian borders, where it doesn't even rank among the top 200 highest mountains in the country. The aim of the campaign is to move the borders around the peak of Halti and to give it to Finland "as an anniversary gift," according to The Washington Post.
The Facebook-based campaign was set up by Norwegian student Sondre Lund but originally conceived by Bjørn Geirr Harsson, a retired employee of the Norwegian Mapping Authority, according to CNN. Harsson's plan dates back to 1972, when he realized that the move would be "barely noticeable... And I'm sure the Finns would greatly appreciate getting it," according to CNN.
While it might seem like an extreme move, Harsson believes that the border would only need to be moved by 65 feet and would have very little impact on the size of Norway itself, according to The Washington Post.
"It would not change the square kilometer size of Norway or Finland," Harsson told the Telegraph, "but it would make a big difference that the highest point in Finland would be on a mountain peak and not on a hillside."
"Not only will this be a great gift, but how many countries can brag about having given a mountain as a gift?" asks a post on the Facebook page, which has been gathering more and more support.
The Norwegian Mapping Authority has given its support for the idea, but the Norwegian foreign ministry has yet to respond to Harsson's letter concerning the change, according to The Telegraph.
