Vappu...aka Labour Day...aka Hang-Over Day.

If you haven't read my blog last year around this time - then you probably never heard of Vappu!  Or at least not from me anyway.

You're probably wondering why (in Finland) so many young adults are wearing funky coloured jump-suits...with badges sewn all over them...and why are some wearing similar shirts or wigs or hats....
It's almost as if there is a MAJOR pub crawl about to happen.

Well, then you'd be kind of right if you thought that.
Vappu occurs every May 1st - some know it as "Labour Day", some know it as "May Day"...and some know it as "Drink a heck of a lot the night before and nurse my hang-over with a lovely picnic - rain or shine day!"
However, Vappu starts the day before and the next day is more of a relaxing and picnic day because nothing is opened.

You will also probably see an insane amount of white caps that look almost like sailor caps...those are what students get when they graduate their program.
The jump-suit colours depends on what program you are in.  I haven't seen my husband wear them at all - and I doubt I ever will.

Some things I've seen today on individuals or groups of people:

• Older lady (late 40's-50's) wearing too much make up and a purple curly-haired wig with streaks of green and hooker boots...
• Girls with green fairy wings
• Sponge Bob Square Pants t-shirt wearing girls
• Afro-wigs....several of them.
• Ladies wearing BRIGHT pink ties with the words printed on them: "GIRLS NIGHT OUT!"...before 11am.

And in case you are wondering, yes Finnish people CAN drink a lot.
I know in Canada - it's pretty common to be able to drink a lot - depending on where you are from.
Well, I am quite confident a Finn could out-drink a Newf easily and still survive (somehow).
A typical house party or drinking fest of any sort tends to start at 4pm (depending on the host) and end 12 hours later or more.  No joke.

Oh and downtown JKL had this market - I forgot to take photos but if you check out this other JKL blogger, Willie - then you can see what it looks like!

Happy Vappu!

PS And if you're wondering what yours truly is doing - I'm having some friends over for a bbq in the fire pit in the back yard....and then we'll just hang out and talk in English. Ha.

Baby Showers versus Naming Parties versus Toe Parties

In North America, baby showers are very common.
If you don't know what a baby shower is - let me explain.
When a woman is expecting a baby, her close friends, family and co-workers often throw a party (or several) for her as her due date approaches and "shower" the expecting mother with gifts for the baby and/or for her!
Typically, the father is not present, although I do know of some baby showers who have had the father there.  But it's typically an all-woman thing and gives the ladies to find out the details of the nursery, the gender, the due date, the feelings, the appointment details and of course - discuss their own personal labour experiences.  As well, there's usually lots of food, drinks and some fun games hosted at someone's home or in a rented hall or center.
There are such things as having a baby shower after the baby's born - especially if the gender is not known (and to avoid several green and yellow-colored "gender neutral" outfits), the mother wasn't feeling particularly well, there was some specific concern over the un-born baby's health or due to schedule conflicts.

In Finland, baby showers are not very common I have found out - as we've had several friends have babies and not heard of a baby shower prior to the baby's birth.  After the baby's born in Finland, there is usually a "Naming Party" - which means the name of the baby is released to their close friends and family and there is often a Christening or Baptizing at the same time.  This can be a few weeks after the baby's born (and once mother is up and running again) or a few months - seriously.  So nobody will know about the baby's name, except the mother and father!!!
Don't be offended if you weren't invited to your friend's baby's Naming Party either.  It's typically for very close friends, like the Godparents of the child and family members only - from what I've heard.
I've mentioned this before but it's true - and very odd to a parent from North America I imagine.  Majority of people I know who have children from Canada, have had names picked out once they passed the first trimester - if not since they were children themselves and playing "house" with their doll sets.  I am willing to admit, had our son not been born in Finland - we were thinking of "Isiah Michael", if the baby was a boy and if it was a girl - well, we were stuck on that one.
So the point being, Finns don't generally name their children prior to the delivery - simply because they want to meet the baby, see what (or who) they look like and how they act (characteristic-wise).  There's a lot of thought that goes into a baby's name here (and I'm sure in other cultures that practice similar traditions).
I'm not knocking your choice of a child's name- it's your child, not mine.  But I have heard of some very odd names since I was a teenager and now names seem to lack a true meaning - other than "sounding cool".

Enough about Baby Showers and Naming Parties.  The true point of this post was to educate you on something I just learned about recently.
My friend's husband recently went to a party to celebrate a friend's new-addition to the family and that's when I learned about "Toe Parties".
"Toe Parties" is the best way to translate it - as it does not refer to painting your toes or tickling anybody else's - but refers to baby toes.  Now before you think "How odd"- here's what happens at a "Toe Party".
A Toe Party is a party for the newly-minted father.  That's right men, you are not forgotten in the baby-department!!
A few days after the baby is born (or whenever a time is convenient I suppose) - the father is taken out for his Toe Party with all of his good friends and family members (mostly men from what I understand) and they get him plastered.  Drunk beyond anything imaginable.
Because as we all know as parents, once you have a child (or a few of them) - you don't get to do that very often at all.

And one last thing - yes it is perfectly acceptable to show up with a gift for the newborn when you are first visiting them - even if they are already 3 months old by the time you finally find out their name. :)