Vappu Day in Finland

May 1 in Finland is not only a national holiday commemorating workers but a carnival of imbibing, picnicking, and celebrating the arrival of spring,

May 1 in Finland is known as Vappu Day, a combination of workers’ day and a celebration of spring. While meteorological spring starts on March 21, May 1st is the real start of spring in Finland, when the days are longer, the mercury reliably stays above the freezing mark, and the snow has melted (hopefully). The Vappu-related reverie actually starts on April 30, when students in Helsinki parade through town and spray the naked Havis Amanda statue near Market Square with champagne while perching a white graduation cap on her head. With 16.5 hours of daylight and a 9:30pm sunset, the parks fill up with partiers drinking, playing music, and playing games well into the night.

On May 1 everyone goes outside to spend time eating, drinking, and socializing. Finns don their own white cap with a black brim and an insignia in front from their graduation day, no matter what their age or how long ago they matriculated from school. To this American, it looks like a sea of festive boat captains walking around. In Helsinki’s popular park along the Baltic Sea, Kaivopuisto, people stake out a spot early in the day, pitch a tent and tables to prepare for their day of celebration. Acoutrements and fare range from pickled herring served on fine china under an elegant tent, to beer in a cooler and sausages on the grill, to wandering bands of young revelers eating a sandwich and carrying a 6 pack of Karjala, Lapin Kulta, or some other Finnish brand of beer. The ice cream huts along the water are open, regardless of whether the temperature is 5 degrees or 20 degrees, and people queue up, eating their ice cream and walking along the waterfront.

Vappu falls on a Tuesday this year. It would be fair to predict that fewer people will be going to work on Wednesday May 2, trying to dodge the splatters of aging vomit peppering the sidewalks on their morning commute. There will probably be many people “calling in sick” Wednesday or taking the day as a holiday, since Vappu only comes once a year.