It was in August 2013 when I made a promise. I was meeting my friends last time before leaving to Ireland and we were talking about student life, parties etc. as we came across the fact that what's going to happen in Vappu (1st of May)... Because I've been hosting up parties already three years in row and the tradition could not be broken, I promised that I will come for a vappu time to visit Finland. First semester had already passed and promise more or less started to fade away and become forgotten until I saw cheap direct flights between Helsinki-Dublin. Vappu, here I come!!!
Obviously sooner or later the celebrations will continue on 1st of May, the actual Vappy day... someone might go already 9am to terrace or then just sleep late but one thing is not to be missed: Every year at 1pm freshers of Technical University of Tampere students will receive their baptism and after they become officially students. They queue few hours to actually get into the basket that a crane will lift up and dip into the rapid, this year weather was only around 3-4 Celsius degrees. Quite refreshing, right? To see this event people just gather around having a picnic in a park and there are lots and lots people from every age groups all wearing similar kind of white graduating hats.
Usually students start to celebrate vappu already a whole week before 1st of May and there is every night something going on. Well obviously because I wasn't in Finland I only participated on vappy eve and then 1st of May celebrations but I didn't do it alone: I had a German friend with me who I got to know during my 1st semester in Ireland. And together we of course drank some Jägerbombs to honor people and memories for the first semester.
In Finland vappu is traditionally celebrated by working class and university student but had become an event where whole nation steps outside to celebrate it with serpentine, air balloons and funny costumes. Students have their overalls, it is important part of Finnish student culture, all 3rd level education students usually have overalls which shows that you are studying and how "active" student you have been. The colors of the overalls and a logo at the back indicates which student society do you belong that is mostly based on your major subject. During the study years we collect patches in different student parties etc. so more patches you have, more you have been living the student life.
On last of April, the vappu eve, is a normal day (shops are open, people are working normally) but students started their day to gather around somewhere. University students go to a place called Sorsapuisto to have a picnic from around 3pm onward -->. Quite same than in Ireland, it is very weather dependable how many people there are and how long time they want to hang around in Sorsapuisto. From there I had invited friends to arrive the house parties I was hosting.
Parties were great on this year! People were not thirsty (you know what I mean ;) ), they were dancing and the music kept playing from 7pm until 5am. Of course during that time at midnight everybody gather to the Tampere city center to see how the Maiden of Finland statue will have a the white hat on (different cities have different traditions). First people sing kind of a university student song, then the statue will got its hat and everyone will open their sparkling wines wishing "Hyvää Vappua!"
Those white hats are graduation hats that we will got in Finland after finished upper-secondary school by passing matriculation examinations and then you can always were that hat in vappu.
Parties were great on this year! People were not thirsty (you know what I mean ;) ), they were dancing and the music kept playing from 7pm until 5am. Of course during that time at midnight everybody gather to the Tampere city center to see how the Maiden of Finland statue will have a the white hat on (different cities have different traditions). First people sing kind of a university student song, then the statue will got its hat and everyone will open their sparkling wines wishing "Hyvää Vappua!"Obviously sooner or later the celebrations will continue on 1st of May, the actual Vappy day... someone might go already 9am to terrace or then just sleep late but one thing is not to be missed: Every year at 1pm freshers of Technical University of Tampere students will receive their baptism and after they become officially students. They queue few hours to actually get into the basket that a crane will lift up and dip into the rapid, this year weather was only around 3-4 Celsius degrees. Quite refreshing, right? To see this event people just gather around having a picnic in a park and there are lots and lots people from every age groups all wearing similar kind of white graduating hats.
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