Celebrating Vappu (May Day) in Finland!

We couldn’t leave Finland without experiencing Vappu! For our last month living here, it was great to see all of the Finns out celebrating today and last evening here in Helsinki! I believe it is the biggest celebration of the year in Finland. There were so many people out and about that I thought we were in a completely different city… much different from the peace and quiet that we have seen this past year! It was nice to finally see so much fun and excitement!! Here are a few photos from the celebration:

This is the crowd getting ready for the crowning of the Havis Amanda Statue.

The crowning of the Havis Amanda Statue in Market Square.

The crowning of the Havis Amanda Statue in the Market Square.

This is a shot with the crowd right after she was crowned with her hat!

Mia and I had a great time on the eve of May Day for the celebration at the Market Square!

We met a nice lady who was all dressed up for the celebration!

Mia and Danny enjoying the celebration!

Mia and I with one of the many balloon vendors on the streets. We felt like we were back at home on Main St. at the Magic kingdom! :)

Mia and I with one of the many balloon vendors on the streets. We felt like we were back at home on Main St. at the Magic Kindgdom! 🙂

Here she is after the crowning ceremony! This is on the eve of May Day and it took place around 6:00 p.m.

Mia and I in front of the Havis Amanda Statue after we stopped for dinner. Not long after the crowning, her hat is usually taken from someone in the crowd! It was gone in less than two hours! 😉

There were lots of balloons and tents set up at Kaivopuisto today (May Day)!

More of the crowd at Kaivopuisto today (May Day)!

We sat down for a picnic, but it started to rain and get really cold so we had to head home for our picnic! I guess we needed a tent!

We sat down for a picnic under a nice tree, but it started to rain and get really cold so we had to head home for our picnic! I guess we needed a tent!

Mia and I had fun dancing with the band who was parading down the street at the Market Square on the eve of Vappu! A great memory for our time while living in Finland!

If you would like to learn more about Vappu, this is a great article about the celebration in Helsinki (sorry, you will have to copy and paste the link, but this is the best article I found in English: www2.hs.fi/english/archive/thisweek/18042000.html

We can now mark another Red Pin Adventure off our Travel Bucket List:
~~Celebrate with the Finns during Vappu (May Day) in Finland!~~