ILOISTA VAPPUA!! MAY DAY 2008 in TURKU
The scenes in the yards moved me back in time. Immediately, I thought of a summer yard scene painting by Carl Larsson. I was walking through an area, called Nummi (a small hill), originally a workers part of Turku, where single-family houses had been built from the early 1900's through 1950's. Many houses are sc. Rintamamiestalo (a fronteer man house), named aptly for the men who were given a lot and aid to build a home after they returned from WW II.
Rafael and I had arrived in Turku around 7:30 PM, after moving to our new apartment in Jyväskylä. I'm renting a little car from a friend, so we drove. It's the first time ever I've had a car in Finland, and it's a lot of fun to be able to cruise around. Turku, the old capital of Finland, is located a little over 300 kilometers southwest of Jyväskylä, on the coast, built on both sides of Aurajoki, the Aura River.
It was April 30, the Eve of May Day, and the biggest carnival-like party of the year. Rafu stayed at our friends, Johanna and Juha's house where Otto, 16, was hosting a party for his friends while I took off with a little map to find Johanna's brother and sister-in-law's house. The road that could be called a lane, took me through an area where many large yards hosted a dinner party. With the lilacs blooming and sun shining, it was a very unusual Vappu weather. Normally, even though dressed for the beginning of summer, everyone is repaired for cold wind and rain, even hail, which seems to be traditional Vappu weather, but not this year! It was still almost +20 C at 7:30 PM. Kids were running around happily in the summery night while adults were toasting to spring and summer with bubbly or the traditional Vappu drink, sima. Most adults were wearing their high school graduation caps, which are only worn once a year, at Vappu. – I managed to borrow one since mine's in Berkeley. There's no Vappu without the ylioppilaslakki! The scene was happy and festive.
I arrive at the yard. The house is a beautiful, wooden house, painted warm yellow. The adults are waiting for the BBQ around a long table, the kids are running around, and the babies are being handed from one lap to another. It's warm enough to sit outdoors until about 10 PM when we finally move in to have dessert and coffee.
The next day is Vappu, the International Worker's Day, Students Holiday, and even an annual celebration by the clergy – so no-one's left out. In the days of my childhood, we would watch the Vappu March, a demonstration by the leftists where signs such as this one were carried by the demonstrators.
Nowadays, demonstrations have swindled to almost nothing. Political activism by regular Finns is down. The Left claims that other parties have 'stolen' Vappu from them as even the right wing politicians travel around giving speeches. So, we didn't even find out if Turku hosted a march, but prepared a lot of sushi rolls, a huge potato salad, baquettes and brie, packed bottles of sparkling wine and sima, and joined thousands of others with our blankets and quilts on Vartiotorninmäki, a hill where Turku people gather on Vappu morning to have a picnic.
Otto enjying a fresh munkki, baked by his mom, Johanna
There is music and balloons, Vappu pom-poms and the ever-present white graduation caps. You MUST eat some munkkis (delicious, churro-like, doughnut-shape pastries), funnel cakes – and herring if you parted too much the night before. But we hadn't! Johanna's three daughters with boyfriends in tow joined us. Most students wear overalls covered by earned labels. You can earn them for good works or other accomplishments. They come in different colors, denoting the department you're a student in. I wish we'd had them in my student days. I've been trying to find one to buy. Better late than never! - The students at the Department of History, like Johanna's daughter, Lotta, will not be seen in overalls but show up in their black capes instead!
traditional Vappu picnic
A long walk around town and a delicious lamb BBQ, prepared by Juha, concluded our Vappu. Vappu this year fell perfectly on a Thursday. Most people got Friday off, and it was a nice, long weekend before the last rush of the end of the school year.
sima & tippaleipä are Vappu delicasies
HAUSKAA VAPPUA!!!
The scenes in the yards moved me back in time. Immediately, I thought of a summer yard scene painting by Carl Larsson. I was walking through an area, called Nummi (a small hill), originally a workers part of Turku, where single-family houses had been built from the early 1900's through 1950's. Many houses are sc. Rintamamiestalo (a fronteer man house), named aptly for the men who were given a lot and aid to build a home after they returned from WW II.
Rafael and I had arrived in Turku around 7:30 PM, after moving to our new apartment in Jyväskylä. I'm renting a little car from a friend, so we drove. It's the first time ever I've had a car in Finland, and it's a lot of fun to be able to cruise around. Turku, the old capital of Finland, is located a little over 300 kilometers southwest of Jyväskylä, on the coast, built on both sides of Aurajoki, the Aura River.
It was April 30, the Eve of May Day, and the biggest carnival-like party of the year. Rafu stayed at our friends, Johanna and Juha's house where Otto, 16, was hosting a party for his friends while I took off with a little map to find Johanna's brother and sister-in-law's house. The road that could be called a lane, took me through an area where many large yards hosted a dinner party. With the lilacs blooming and sun shining, it was a very unusual Vappu weather. Normally, even though dressed for the beginning of summer, everyone is repaired for cold wind and rain, even hail, which seems to be traditional Vappu weather, but not this year! It was still almost +20 C at 7:30 PM. Kids were running around happily in the summery night while adults were toasting to spring and summer with bubbly or the traditional Vappu drink, sima. Most adults were wearing their high school graduation caps, which are only worn once a year, at Vappu. – I managed to borrow one since mine's in Berkeley. There's no Vappu without the ylioppilaslakki! The scene was happy and festive.
I arrive at the yard. The house is a beautiful, wooden house, painted warm yellow. The adults are waiting for the BBQ around a long table, the kids are running around, and the babies are being handed from one lap to another. It's warm enough to sit outdoors until about 10 PM when we finally move in to have dessert and coffee.
The next day is Vappu, the International Worker's Day, Students Holiday, and even an annual celebration by the clergy – so no-one's left out. In the days of my childhood, we would watch the Vappu March, a demonstration by the leftists where signs such as this one were carried by the demonstrators.
Nowadays, demonstrations have swindled to almost nothing. Political activism by regular Finns is down. The Left claims that other parties have 'stolen' Vappu from them as even the right wing politicians travel around giving speeches. So, we didn't even find out if Turku hosted a march, but prepared a lot of sushi rolls, a huge potato salad, baquettes and brie, packed bottles of sparkling wine and sima, and joined thousands of others with our blankets and quilts on Vartiotorninmäki, a hill where Turku people gather on Vappu morning to have a picnic.
Otto enjying a fresh munkki, baked by his mom, Johanna
There is music and balloons, Vappu pom-poms and the ever-present white graduation caps. You MUST eat some munkkis (delicious, churro-like, doughnut-shape pastries), funnel cakes – and herring if you parted too much the night before. But we hadn't! Johanna's three daughters with boyfriends in tow joined us. Most students wear overalls covered by earned labels. You can earn them for good works or other accomplishments. They come in different colors, denoting the department you're a student in. I wish we'd had them in my student days. I've been trying to find one to buy. Better late than never! - The students at the Department of History, like Johanna's daughter, Lotta, will not be seen in overalls but show up in their black capes instead!
traditional Vappu picnic
A long walk around town and a delicious lamb BBQ, prepared by Juha, concluded our Vappu. Vappu this year fell perfectly on a Thursday. Most people got Friday off, and it was a nice, long weekend before the last rush of the end of the school year.
sima & tippaleipä are Vappu delicasies
HAUSKAA VAPPUA!!!
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