Mayday,
mayday, it’s Vappu!
The best way to celebrate your last moments as an exchange student in
Finland is to experience the local Labour Day, Vappu. It’s an ultimate
chance to see some authentic Finnish Party Behaviour. Vappu celebrates
the workers’ movement, springtime, student life and city carnevalism.
If you thought that downtown was full of drunks on a regular weekend,
you have seen nothing yet!
Vappu is
always very special for university students. This is one occasion when
almost all the students will be wearing their overalls and traditional
student caps. Since this year Vappu Eve is on a Tuesday 30.4., a lot of
students will be “practicing” for Vappu already on the preceding
weekend. Everybody hopes that the weather will be nice, so people can
just hang outdoors.
On the Vappu
Eve the student action usually starts quite early with friends gathering
together and people hanging around downtown. There is a traditional
rowing competition on the River Aura in the afternoon. You should make
to the Art Museum Hill by six p.m. where there is some official program
(speeches and music) before the white student caps are put on. If you
look carefully, you will see caps in various conditions because the
champagne shower on the hill is quite effective: you will get your share
of it - on your clothes. I really recommend that you go to witness this
event: you have probably never seen so many Finns in one place at the
same time before!
At seven p.m.
students gather down by the River Aura to crown the statue of Lilja with
a student cap. After this Vappu continues in less official forms all
around town. If you want tickets to any student parties I recommend that
you get them in advance. All the places will be crowded. If you will go
to one of the downtown discos, be prepared to stand in line!
On first of
May the traditional Vappu picnic is from nine a.m. to three p.m. on the
Tähtitorni hill. If the weather is nice, people can spend the whole day
outdoors, relaxing and enjoying the company of their friends and the
contents of their picnic basket.
Vappu also has
its own food specialities: sima, munkki and tippaleipä. They are better
if they are homemade, but you can find them at any grocery store this
week. So, let’s hope that we will have beautiful weather for the next
few days. Take care and have loads of fun!
Hanna
Kukkonen
