A few pages earlier, it says hairdressers are generally open 8AM to 5PM.
It seems like a pretty good nightlife scene. On page 412, "Always go late to savor Helsinki nightlight (except to Espilä which wraps up the evening at 1 A.M.) The gear shifts of merriment seldom mesh into overdrive before 11 P.M. - and from then onward, they're off and racing."
Earlier on the same page it also mentions "Prayer Sundays" - four Sundays of the year where there is no public entertainment between 6pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday.
1984 is 40 years ago.
Yes, 1950s Finland is different from 1980s US. Blue laws were also stronger in 1950s US.
Edit: Tourist book from 1968, https://archive.org/details/fieldingstravel00fiel/page/427/m... "Shopping hours: Weekdays, 8:30 A.M. TO 5 P.M., plus 6 P.M. on Fridays; Saturdays, 8:30 A.M. to 4 P.M. in winter, with 3 P.M. closings in summer.
A few pages earlier, it says hairdressers are generally open 8AM to 5PM.
It seems like a pretty good nightlife scene. On page 412, "Always go late to savor Helsinki nightlight (except to Espilä which wraps up the evening at 1 A.M.) The gear shifts of merriment seldom mesh into overdrive before 11 P.M. - and from then onward, they're off and racing."
Earlier on the same page it also mentions "Prayer Sundays" - four Sundays of the year where there is no public entertainment between 6pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday.