music: guru josh project - infinity
mood: between amazed and disgusted
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vappu#Finland
"In Finland, Walpurgis day (Vappu) is, along with New Year's Eve and Juhannus, the biggest carnival-style festival held in the streets of Finland's towns and cities. The celebration, which begins on the evening of April 30 and continues to May 1, typically centres on copious consumption of sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages."
As we were told, Vappu is one of the most important holiday for students, where the student club members get to wear their overalls (did I actually tell you about my nice red overall from the biology student club?), so we felt obliged to join the party. Vappu traditionally includes picknick, outside party and throwing a professor in the fountain, so the disappointment started when it started to rain in the afternoon of the 30th of April. Anyway, we had a nice preparty with sima (mead, traditional Vappu drink, the one from the supermarket tastes like Almdudler and has 0.7 % alcohol) and beer. At around 5 pm we decided to not care about the weather and go to the city center. We heard that it was supposed to be a huge party but the market square was basically empty. After a while, some people showed up around the fountain, they set up speakers and eventually, it became sort of crowded (lots of people in overalls!). Another tradition we didn't know was that members of the student clubs wear some kind of sailors' cap. After a choir performance and some Finnish speeches, two students decorated the statue of the naked guy in the fountain with such a cap. After that, a professor was carried around the fountain and then thrown in. It was really cold that day but as he is Finnish, he seemed to enjoy it and even splashed around with the water. Then, the show was already over. We went to have some coffee and then we went to the lake where all the Finnish guys were hanging out.
I tell you, that was quite a show! A lot of dressed up people crowded the lake shore - it is a carnival after all - getting totally wasted. We were watching in awe. I have never seen that many that drunk people in crazy outfits in one spot. Not even in Cologne at Carnival! I mean, they were all outside and concentrated in one spot! The outfits of the girls were mostly sexy bunnies and slutty nurses. Some slutty nurses were hitting on some of "our" guys. They reported later that the girls were 17 and accompanied by an empty bottle of Vodka and a box of condoms. We made bets how long it would take for each girl to get raped and/or pregnant that day. At around 10 pm, all the over 18 year olds went to the clubs so only the drunk underaged persons remained. Somebody, I don't remember who, said that only the babies and people in the hospital are not drunk that day in Finland. Also we learned that the fee for peeing in public is 20 €. After being annoyed enough (for the guys: enjoyed the view enough), we went to Hunters. It was never that crowded in there! A life band was playing and people were actually happy and dancing! Crazy!
My conclusion about Vappu: The definition of a holiday in Finland is getting totally wasted. It is a lot like German carnival except for the part that you dont have to sing stupid songs, get dressed up silly if you dont feel like it and pretend that you're having a good time when in fact you're not. Just get wasted. The old and the young, the rich and those who can afford only the cheap alcohol, the pretty and the, well, less fortunate, all united in the goal of drinking yourself beyond conciousness. Kippis!
mood: between amazed and disgusted
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vappu#Finland
"In Finland, Walpurgis day (Vappu) is, along with New Year's Eve and Juhannus, the biggest carnival-style festival held in the streets of Finland's towns and cities. The celebration, which begins on the evening of April 30 and continues to May 1, typically centres on copious consumption of sparkling wine and other alcoholic beverages."
As we were told, Vappu is one of the most important holiday for students, where the student club members get to wear their overalls (did I actually tell you about my nice red overall from the biology student club?), so we felt obliged to join the party. Vappu traditionally includes picknick, outside party and throwing a professor in the fountain, so the disappointment started when it started to rain in the afternoon of the 30th of April. Anyway, we had a nice preparty with sima (mead, traditional Vappu drink, the one from the supermarket tastes like Almdudler and has 0.7 % alcohol) and beer. At around 5 pm we decided to not care about the weather and go to the city center. We heard that it was supposed to be a huge party but the market square was basically empty. After a while, some people showed up around the fountain, they set up speakers and eventually, it became sort of crowded (lots of people in overalls!). Another tradition we didn't know was that members of the student clubs wear some kind of sailors' cap. After a choir performance and some Finnish speeches, two students decorated the statue of the naked guy in the fountain with such a cap. After that, a professor was carried around the fountain and then thrown in. It was really cold that day but as he is Finnish, he seemed to enjoy it and even splashed around with the water. Then, the show was already over. We went to have some coffee and then we went to the lake where all the Finnish guys were hanging out.
I tell you, that was quite a show! A lot of dressed up people crowded the lake shore - it is a carnival after all - getting totally wasted. We were watching in awe. I have never seen that many that drunk people in crazy outfits in one spot. Not even in Cologne at Carnival! I mean, they were all outside and concentrated in one spot! The outfits of the girls were mostly sexy bunnies and slutty nurses. Some slutty nurses were hitting on some of "our" guys. They reported later that the girls were 17 and accompanied by an empty bottle of Vodka and a box of condoms. We made bets how long it would take for each girl to get raped and/or pregnant that day. At around 10 pm, all the over 18 year olds went to the clubs so only the drunk underaged persons remained. Somebody, I don't remember who, said that only the babies and people in the hospital are not drunk that day in Finland. Also we learned that the fee for peeing in public is 20 €. After being annoyed enough (for the guys: enjoyed the view enough), we went to Hunters. It was never that crowded in there! A life band was playing and people were actually happy and dancing! Crazy!
My conclusion about Vappu: The definition of a holiday in Finland is getting totally wasted. It is a lot like German carnival except for the part that you dont have to sing stupid songs, get dressed up silly if you dont feel like it and pretend that you're having a good time when in fact you're not. Just get wasted. The old and the young, the rich and those who can afford only the cheap alcohol, the pretty and the, well, less fortunate, all united in the goal of drinking yourself beyond conciousness. Kippis!
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