May Day is celebrated in Finland as Labour Day – but the evening before is a peak party moment for university-level students.
In Helsinki, the main May Day Eve festivities usually centre on the 1908 Havis Amanda fountain on the Market Square, featuring a mermaid nicknamed "Manta" surrounded by water-spouting seals. Student representatives lifted by a crane lower a white student cap onto the female figure's head. However, with the fountain temporarily removed for restoration, this year brings a change in the tradition, which stretches back more than a century.
May Day Eve festivities in the capital this year instead focus on Kansalaistori (Citizens' Square) between the Oodi Central Library and the Helsinki Music Centre, where thousands gathered in warm, sunny weather.
The light-hearted capping ceremony took place there with a one-off stand-in sculpture created by students from the University of the Arts Helsinki and dubbed "Manta's little cousin". The pink plastic statue resembles the real Havis Amanda, designed by sculptor Ville Vallgren.
Yle is carrying the event live.
Just before the cap ritual at 6pm on Tuesday, those celebrating got a remote view of the actual Manta at a warehouse in Vantaa, shown on a large video screen in front of the Music Centre.
The monument will be moved back into its usual spot near the harbour and Esplanade Park this summer.
Helsinki Mayor Juhana Vartiainen told an Yle reporter at the scene that he had visited Manta at the restoration site earlier in the day.
"After the long winter and the coronavirus years, it's a huge thing that we can celebrate together in the city," he said.
Also earlier on Tuesday, engineering students also put caps on the statues of Finnish running greats Paavo Nurmi and Lasse Virén.
Other capping rituals around Finland
Students in other cities around Finland have their own rituals, often involving placing student caps on top of local monuments.
At noon in the northern city of Oulu, an outsized hat was placed on a statue of poet and clergyman Frans Michael Franzén. In Hämeenlinna, composer Jean Sibelius gets his student cap each year as well, while in Pori the honour is bestowed on a bear statue.
In the eastern city of Lappeenranta, students from LUT University capped a sculpture of a crane in the city centre at noon. Celebrations continued with an afternoon concert featuring pop stars such as Erika Vikman and Elastinen.
Also in the east, students in Kajaani place headgear on a statue of folklorist and author Elias Lönnrot.
In another eastern town, Kuopio, swimsuit-clad dental students braved chilly weather to carry out an odder ritual – the annual scrubbing of a large tooth.
In the southwestern city of Turku, first-year engineering students received their caps on the steps of the Cathedral in the early afternoon.
After the ceremony, the freshmen dipped the tassels of their hats in aquavit, according to the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi's tradition.
Turku students also participated in an annual rowing event on the River Aura as temperatures rose into the upper teens Celsius.
In Tampere, first-year engineering students receive a symbolic baptism in the chilly waters of the Tammerkoski channel. As part of the nearly 60-year-old tradition, eight students at a time are dunked in the river while seating in an octagonal contraption.
Users with an Yle ID can leave comments on our news stories. You can create your Yle ID via this link. Our guidelines on commenting and moderation are explained here.