Vappu in Finland: How to Celebrate Like a Local (and Learn Essential Phrases)
Celebrate Vappu like a Finn and boost your Finnish skills with essential phrases, cultural insights, and real-life vocabulary for May Day festivities!
In this blog, I share real stories from Finland and related audio files to boost your Finnish.
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Introduction to Vappu: A Finnish May Day Celebration
Did you know that the roots of Vappu go back to the Middle Ages and are connected to a saint called Valburg?
Even though in Finland Vappu is known today as a celebration of workers and students, it has a surprisingly long and rich history.
Vappu is the Finnish name for one of the biggest holidays of the year, May 1st.
In Finland, the celebration of this day is a happy mix of old folk traditions, political history, and student culture.
Vappu officially starts the summer and picnic season.
In this post, I will tell you about some Finnish ways to celebrate Vappu, the foods connected to Vappu, and other traditions.
Here is a list of Finnish words and expressions related to Vappu. Each word is followed by its English translation. You can listen to the Finnish pronunciation in the audio file below.
Vappu – May Day
Sima – Traditional Finnish mead
Munkki – May Day doughnut
Vappupallo – May Day balloon
Tippaleipä – Funnel cake
The Surprising History of Vappu: From Saint Valburg to Modern Day
Did you know that the labor movement chose May 1st as their holiday in the late 1800s?
And did you know that even though in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, and Latvia, May 1st is now celebrated as Workers' Day, in these countries the celebration is much older?
Yes, in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, and Latvia, Vappu is an old festival, and its traditions are based on the cycle of the year and especially on the beginning of summer.
The festival at the start of May also has a surprising religious background.
Vappu has been celebrated since the Middle Ages:
In the 700s, there was an abbess named Valburg in Bavaria.
May 1st is the day she was declared a saint.
The Finnish women’s names Vappu and Valpuri come from the name of abbess Valburg, and Vappu and Valpuri have their name day on May 1st. (Today these names are not very common in Finland.)
The name Vappu has also become the name for the holiday on May 1st in Finland.
The celebration of Vappu has a long history even before it had a political meaning.
Today the political meaning has become broader: in Finland, Vappu is celebrated across all political parties. Even right-wing parties gather and give speeches on Vappu Day.
In Finland, Vappu is the last spring celebration: Easter already gives a hint of it, but after Vappu, it is summer!
Vappu is special in Finland because it is the only holiday that has a carnival atmosphere (yes, really unusual in Finland!).
How Finns Celebrate Vappu: Food, Picnics, and Traditions
Vappu starts the summer and the picnic season.
One tradition on Vappu Day is to celebrate outside: many people gather in parks in cities for a Vappu picnic.
Typically, people pack their picnic basket with filled sandwiches, sausages and meatballs, and potato salad.
The traditional foods especially connected to Vappu are doughnuts (munkki), funnel cakes (tippaleipä), mead (sima), or sparkling wine.
On Vappu, there are political events but also many other activities that bring people together.
A common thing at all these events is that balloons are sold. In Finland, it has become a tradition to buy a Vappu balloon for children.
There are also concerts and parades of old cars on Vappu.
I actually don’t know exactly why vintage car shows and parades happen especially on Vappu. Maybe it is because these valuable restored cars can only be driven in summer in Finland. Since summer starts officially at Vappu, it is maybe natural to gather with other car lovers and show the cars to the public.
Student Life and Vappu: Overalls, Caps, and Funny Newspapers
In Finland, Vappu is the most important festival and highlight of the year for students.
Especially students in technical fields have made Vappu their own and start celebrating already a week earlier.
Traditionally, the celebration is "wet" in many ways: alcohol is typical at Vappu celebrations, and also the "freshman dunk" happens. This dunk means that first-year students dip into cold natural water.
Other student traditions include putting a cap on a famous statue in the city and selling funny Vappu newspapers, especially by engineering students.
Here is a list of Finnish words and expressions related to Vappu student traditions. Each word is followed by its English translation. You can listen to the Finnish pronunciation in the audio file below.
Haalarit – Student overalls
Lakitus – Capping ceremony (putting a cap on a statue)
Fuksi – Freshman
Fuksikaste – Freshman dunking (into cold water)
Vappulehti – May Day magazine (funny student newspaper)
Opiskelijakaupunki – Student city
Kaste – Baptism/dunking
When you move around Finnish student cities during Vappu, you can recognize students by their colorful overalls. These overalls are worn by students who are still studying. The color and the patches on the overalls show the student’s place of study and field of education.
For many who celebrated Vappu as students, the tradition continues later in life:
If you walk in a Finnish city on Vappu Day, you will surely see people wearing different kinds of caps. These caps show that the person has completed some kind of degree.
It is common for people to take out their old cap from storage and wear it at the Vappu picnic.
Where to Experience the Best Vappu Celebrations in Finland
If you want to see and experience something very different in Finnish culture, plan your trip to a Finnish city so that you can go to a Vappu picnic on May 1st.
Here is a list of Finnish words and expressions related to Vappu celebrations and outdoor activities. Each word is followed by its English translation. You can listen to the Finnish pronunciation in the audio file below.
Vappupiknik – May Day picnic
Kaivopuisto – Kaivopuisto Park (in Helsinki)
Koskipuisto – Koskipuisto Park (in Tampere)
Hyvää vappua! / Hauskaa vappua! – Happy May Day!
For your Vappu picnic choose a place like:
Helsinki: Kaivopuisto
Tampere: Koskipuisto
The carnival atmosphere you can feel during Vappu is very special.
The colorful sea of student overalls, the balloons, and the picnics in parks are sights you cannot experience at any other time in Finland. During Vappu, it feels like the whole country is freed to celebrate together outside, no matter the weather. 🎉
Keep practicing your Finnish and dive deeper into the culture — there's always something new to discover. Hyvää vappua!