May Day in Helsinki through the years

Ihmisiä Ullanlinnanmäellä
Kajantie Arvo / helsinkikuvia.fi
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May Day traditions in Finland have stayed very much the same over the decades. Colorful balloons, serpentine throws and student caps are an important part of the celebration – as are sweet delicacies such as sima, tippaleipä and sugar doughnuts. In Helsinki, May Day traditionally includes workers’ Labour Day parades and picnics in the Kaivopuisto Park. We collected May Day images from the last hundred years.

#1 Cheerful drivers on Pohjois Esplanaadikatu in the 1910s

Ylioppilaat vappuajelulla
Timiriasew Ivan / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#2 Elegant ladies celebrating May Day in the spring of 1912

Hymyilevät naiset Pohjois Esplanaadilla
Timiriasew Ivan / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#3 Students enjoying a May Day picnic in Kaisaniemi Park in the 1920s

Timiriasew Ivan / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#4 Happy families strolling along Eteläranta in 1959

Ihmisiä kadulla ylioppilaslakit päässä
Kajantie Arvo / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#5 Sales point for colourful balloons by the Swedish Theater in the beginning of the 1960s

Jernvall Juha / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#6 Students gather together for a sing-along in the Kaivopuisto Park 

 

Ihmisiä Ullanlinnanmäellä
Jernvall Juha / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#7 Students getting ready to celebrate May Day on the steps of the Old Student House in 1966

Nuorisoa vapunvietossa
Volker von Bonin / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#8 Workers' Labour Day parade on Siltasaarenkatu in 1973

Vappumarssilla Hakaniemessä
Rista Simo / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#9 A student couple watching the happy celebrations in Kaivopuisto Park in 1976

Ylioppilaat Ullanlinnanmäellä
Volker von Bonin / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#10 Mother ties a balloon to the little girl's wrist in Esplanade Park in the 1970s

PIeni vapun juhlija Esplanadilla
Hakli Kari / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#11 May Day celebration fills the Market Square with joyful crowds and balloons in 1974

Volker von Bonin / helsinkikuvia.fi
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#12 Pohjois Esplanaadikatu cleanup after May Day 1912

Signe Brander / helsinkikuvia.fi
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Teaser text
May Day traditions in Finland have stayed very much the same over the decades. Colorful balloons, serpentine throws and student caps are an important part of the celebration – as are sweet delicacies such as sima, tippaleipä and sugar doughnuts. We collected May Day images from the last hundred years.
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