Vappu Day in Finland

The evening of the 30th April means fun for the Finns. Usually very quiet and peaceful, on some occasion they pour into the streets, with beers or glasses of wine in their hands, and celebrate. Vappu is one of these occasions. It is the equivalent of pagan festivals all across Northern Europe, but in Finland it is essentially a student festival. High school alumni wear a special cap (which comes in slightly different types and sizes, depending on the school and on whether it belongs to the Finns or to the Swedish minority) and gather around the main square. Here they wash a nude female statue of Havis Amanda (a mermaid symbolising Helsinki) and cap it at exactly 6pm. A huge yelling and singing crowd is always present. The party goes on the whole night and Finns certainly rival Poles and Scots when it comes to heavy drinking. The next day (1st May) families go out for a pic nic in the parks of the city. It is, of course, symbolically the beginning of the warm season.