In the northern cities of Oulu and Rovaniemi, students have been getting ready to celebrate May Day (Vappu in Finnish) since the long
Easter weekend.
"As students, the tradition is to make sima (Finnish mead) and wine in the week preceding the eve of May Day and May Day," says Miikka-Aukusti Heiskanen, who is spending time in Oulu’s Rotuaari pedestrian area. "This is going to be the best Vappu," he says.
Heiskanen, a student of management sciences at the University of Lapland, says he started celebrating the lead-up to May Day in Rovaniemi, where he studies, on 17 April following the Easter long weekend.
Now, he's come to the city of Oulu to mark May Day and the festive eve preceding it.
"In Rovaniemi, we have an amazing student community and a Vappu week. However, May Day and the evening preceding it are the climax and much more massive here in Oulu," explains Heiskanen, who says he spent the two previous May Days in Rovaniemi.
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The importance of pacing
The unanimous opinion for those who want to spend a week or two celebrating May Day is that it's paramount to pace yourself and to drink plenty of water.
Heikki Kaarlela leads the Oulu’s technology student organisation.
"I usually ensure that I don’t go overboard, otherwise you know what the next day has in store. This is a marathon, not a sprint," says Kaarlela.
According to Heiskanen, the trick to staying in good shape is to focus and invest in the festivities on the evening preceding May Day and May Day itself.
"Drinking alcohol is not the point, rather it's all about spending time with friends. And especially in Rovaniemi, (we're marking) the end of winter!" says Heiskanen.
And if the partying does get out of hand, the most important thing is to take care of your friends, says Kaarlela.
May Day, the celebration of workers and students, is one of the biggest holidays on the Finnish calendar.