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| Sima (the drink) & Munkki are a traditional part of Vappu menu. You can find Sima in most normal grocery stores during Vapputime and munkki is available in stores around the year. |
You’ve all heard the word. In April it’s practically impossible not to hear it whispered among students and printed out on various event posters. You might not know it yet, but this “Vappu” you’ve been hearing about, it’s a thing you really want to be a part of.
You might ask “What’s the big fuss?” Vappu is the Christmas of students, the day of Labor, when in celebration of labor no one works and instead parties for days.
Vappu - a brief history
Vappu aka May Day is a traditional spring festival celebrated in many countries and it is a public holiday in Finland. The name Vappu comes from the Saint Walburga from the 8th Century who was canonized on the 1st of May. Vappu was celebrated by lighting up bonfires to drive away the bad spirits in the past. The traditions reach far into the Middle Ages as a pagan festival, but nowadays Vappu is associated more with the coinciding Labor Day, celebrated on the 1st of May as well. (Vappu Wikipedia, 2013.)
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| Balloons - a "must have" during Vappu. |
What Vappu means to you as a student
Vappu is the biggest party of the year for students. Some student organizations start celebrating Vappu already a month before the actual Vappu eve but in general you can start checking out Vappu happenings about one week before the 30th of April. Vappu is the Finnish version of a carnival. During Vappu you can dress up in funny costumes, hats and wigs, buy soap bubbles from a store or just buy a funny colorful horn and set a party mood with it. Other must have accessories of the party are balloons and serpentiini (paper streamers). The students will be wearing the overalls and also the student cap that they get from graduating from a Finnish upper secondary school.
Vappu in Jyväskylä
In Jyväskylä there are some traditions. The main one of them being the 1st of May’s Vappu picnic on Harju, where all student association gather to enjoy each others company, music provided by a variety of performers playing on the spot, and of course, to drink sparkling wine and to eat their self brought picnic food. It’s also a tradition that a group of old cars drive by the Harju’s city side and it is awesome.
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| Vappu dresscode - look silly! One way to do so is to cover yourself in as much serpentiini as you can. |
Earlier years JYY, the student union, has been giving out free munkki (a type of sugar-covered donut, traditional Vappu food) after lunch at Ilokivi, so you might want to check that out too.
With ESN Jyväskylä you can first get started with the ESN JKL CUP Spring 2016 where you can proof that you truly can Bend it like Beckham and/or just have a great time watching the games and rooting for your favorites. Next week we move on to updating the Vappu uniform (a.k.a your overalls) in April 18th’s Café Lingua, so that they will be ready for the Vappuchallenge on Vappu eve (30.4.)! The event starts of in Kirkkopuisto (Church Park), where you and your team will pick up your challenge pass and move on to completing the challenges in the city center area. The best performances will be rewarded in the White T-shirt FAREWELL PARTY (more infos TBA)! During the Vappuchallenge day you can see us and all the other students in overalls in Kirkkopuisto and all around the city, so you should gear up as well! Funny outfits and crazy wigs work as an alternative/additional uniform as well. On the 1st of May take your friends, food (a traditional Vappu menu includes sima, munkki and tippaleipä) and sparkling wine with you and climb up on the Norssi (left) side of Harju and join us for the traditional Vappu day picnic. We will keep you informed of all the other interesting things happening in the city as well!
So, get ready for Vappu, and take in heart the following phrase/advice:
Glada vappen, spara vatten, bara snapsen hela natten!
(Good Vappu, save the water, only schnaps all night!)
