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| May Day Celebration at the Market Place. The statue of Havis Amanda Receiving it's White Cap. |
This celebration in Helsinki is for students and academics. This two day event started with an elaborate ceremony in which a white cap, which symbolizes a graduation either from high school, college or a university, is placed on a statue of the daughter of Baltic Sea, Havis Amanda. People open bottles of champagne on the streets and the celebration continues all night long.
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| Witnessing the Capping of the Statue |
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| Common Scene on the Streets |
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| Student Union Male Choir Singing Finlandia Hymn |
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| Typical May Day Desert, Tippaleipä |
 I borrowed a white cap. I do not know where my original one is.  |
| Celebration Continues at Kaivopuisto Park |
Television crews were there early in the morning to broadcast live for those who are not able to travel. Student Union singers always sing Finlandia. Our famous composer Jean Sibelius composed this in 1900. This has always been a very emotional song for Finns. “The hymn part of Jean Sibelius' symphonic poem "Finlandia" did not originally contain lyrics. The lyrics were added later, written by V. A. Koskenniemi and performed for the first time in 1941. In 1942 Sibelius himself accepted these lyrics as the official libretto to his Finlandia.”
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| Picnic all over the park |
Here is the English translation of the song:
Finland, behold, thy daylight now is dawning,
the threat of night has now been driven away.
The skylark calls across the light of morning,
the blue of heaven lets it have its sound,
and now the day the powers of night is scorning:
thy daylight dawns, O Finland of ours!
Finland, arise, and raise towards the highest
thy head now crowned with mighty memory.
Finland, arise, for to the world thou criest
that thou hast thrown off thy slavery,
beneath oppression's yoke thou never liest.
Thy morning's come, O Finland of ours!"
This was
my first Mayday celebration ever!
