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and the Boston Celtics have almost nothing in common besides one thing: The ability to win big, eight years in a row.

For the Celtics, it was eight consecutive NBA Championships from 1959 to 1966, a feat yet to be replicated. For Finland, it's been topping World Happiness charts for the last eight years. The latter could be considered a bigger accomplishment during such uncertain times, but the mystery of Finland's happiness eludes many, including the Finns themselves.

The is an annual report published by the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the United Nations.

"People were going to the survey and trying to figure out, what is wrong with the survey," explained Frank Martela, a philosopher and professor. 

Martela, who this year published "" believes the Finns were skeptical because of the way happiness is measured.

"I guess like one key reason is what they are actually measuring in this World Happiness Report," Martela said. 

The report ranks a nation's happiness based on one question: On a scale of zero to 10, how close is your life to the best possible life?

"Which is a different question than, you know, did you experience joy today, or did you smile or laugh today?" Martela said.

Meaningful happiness, in the case of the Finns, really comes down to contentment, which begs the question, why are Finns so content?

"The kind of society we have has been able to take care of the citizens relatively well," Martela explained.

, Helsinki's Central Library, is an example. The library defines itself as a "living meeting place" offering traditional library services, video gaming spaces, digital studio spaces, 3D-printing services and more, all free and accessible to the public. 

"The idea is to make sure everybody has opportunity to do this kind of thing no matter how much money you yourself have," Martela said. 

But the higher taxes that drive a socialistic society are worth it for the Finns.

"There's more of an idea of society here, I think, people accept that if you pay taxes, then you're getting something in return," explained Tim Bird, who immigrated to Finland from the U.K. more than 40 years ago.

Bird was also enthralled with how close he was to the outdoors in Finland. 

"This is one of the great things about Helsinki, you're never too far from the natural environment," he said.

Another possible explanation for the country's happiness could be its citizens' relationship with temperature. Finland has more saunas per person than the U.S. has passenger cars. 

Carita Harju, co-author of "The Power of Hot and Cold," explained that she uses the sauna every day for health benefits as much as the mental ones. After heating up, she takes a dip in the chilly Baltic Sea. The quick temperature changes release endorphins, but for Harju, it's about relaxation.

Which brings back around what happiness really means for Finnish people, and why the country has dominated World Happiness charts for nearly a decade.

"I guess, like we have been given this unique life to live, and it would be like quite sad if you only followed external pressures on doing things that other people want," Martela said, "like living somebody else's dream instead of our own dream."