Vappu (May Day)

So we went out last night to see what this Vappu Eve thing is all about.  For those who aren't familiar with the word "Vappu," it is the Finnish word for May Day, the first day of May.  It is a big thing here;  most places are closed and people have the day off.  Good thing too, because people surely know how to celebrate Vappu Eve and would probably be loathe to go to work the next morning.

Vappu Eve is basically a celebration of graduation and the coming/start of spring.  Graduates of the current year wear colorful jumpsuits with patches on them all day (and in some cases all week).  The colors and patches indicate where they have graduated from and with what degree. Masters degrees wear large tassles, like the size you'd find on curtain tie-backs.  The patches are also to show "sponsorship" and are used to raise funds for something (didn't catch that detail).  All graduates wear hats that look pretty much like a ship captain's cap.  This includes past graduates, and we could see some very old, yellowing caps on a few of the older population.

They sell all sorts of colorful things to wear on your head as well as candy, food and balloons.  Also available, we were told, were dirty joke books sold by the graduates.  One of my husband's co-workers asked us to pick one up for him...too bad it is in Finnish.

So the big event on Vappu Eve is the washing and capping of the "naked lady statue" in Helsinki.  It has a proper name, but I can never remember it, and if you google "naked lady statue Helsinki" it will come up.  Anyway, a good number of graduate students are dangled over the statue by a crane and are lowered down to give her a good scrub and to place a cap on her head.  The cap reportedly does not stay on long before it is stolen.  Well, we live about two to three blocks from the statue and went to see the festivities and fight the crowds.  There were hoards of people and we were all keen to see the tradition play out.  It seemed to us, though that they only capped the statue and forewent the scrubbing.  The cap stayed on as long as we were there, which was quite a while.  A bit confused, but not dissapointed, we headed off to finish our champaign and get some dinner.

Did I mention there was champaign?  Yes, this is an integral part of the tradition.  Everybody brings champaign and drinks it there on the street as they celebrate.  It is illegal to drink alcohol on the streets of Helsinki, but it is pretty much tolerated by the police on Vappu Eve the same way that public nudity is tolerated in the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras ( females lifting their shirts to earn beads).  As long as you don't cause any trouble, the pollisi look the other way.

Well, Vappu Eve is over now and we are having a quiet Vappu day today.  We could have gone to a certain park with a picnic this morning, but decided to sleep in after our late night.  We had a great time and are quite blessed to live where we do.  Helsinki rocks!

Oh, and by the way, the coffee house accross the street finally put out its tables and is open for business.