Finland celebrates May Day eve with student traditions

May Day eve, known locally as vappuaatto, is being celebrated across Finland on Tuesday, with student-led festivities taking place in multiple cities, reports Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The centrepiece of Helsinki’s celebrations is the capping of the Havis Amanda statue—a landmark bronze sculpture in the city’s Market Square—with a traditional white student cap. This year’s ceremony, organised by the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY), carries the theme of the Baltic Sea. The event typically draws around 80,000 revellers to the statue and nearby Esplanade Park.

Similar statue-capping traditions will take place in Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä, and Oulu. Meanwhile, May Day eve is being marked nationwide with carnival-style vappuriennot (May Day picnics) and public gatherings.