A Cap, A Party, A Caparty (with apologies to Alice Cooper)

[6/13 corrected Waylon Jennings lyric - Amanda is not the light of my wife]

Or, why some Americans (namely me) are more stupid than others. (Warning: the following post includes tons of song references that follow no rhyme or reason, other than the facts of life that moonlight feels right. Just ignore them and remember that love stinks.)

Way up north, beyond Azusa (more later), beyond Palmdale, like way up in Sweden and Finland, the graduates wear white caps that resemble navy caps. But they're not. Take it away, Gili:

Thos[e] Popeye caps are not...navy hats but old tradition in Finland (and Sweden) as graduation caps.

The BBC reported this in a serious voice:

In Finland 'Vappu' is, along with New Year's Eve, the biggest carnival-style festivity in the country. The celebration calls for an extravagant amount of balloons, whistles of many sorts and paper decorations combined with excessive consumption of alcohol. From the end of the 19th Century, 'Vappu' has been commandeered by graduating university students to celebrate receiving their white graduation caps and gowns....

[I]n the capital, Helsinki, tradition sees the 'capping' of the statue of the mermaid Havis Amanda (the 'darling of the sea') spraying her with champagne and adding soap to the fountain at her feet to signal start of the party!

Amanda, light of my [6/13 corrected]life, they should have made you a gentleman's wife. But they're not outlaws...they're only students. And you don't have to be on Ohio Player to light things on fire in Sweden:

Valborg is celebrated in Sweden in different ways, always depending on the part of the country. Lighting large bonfires is a popular celebration in eastern parts of Sweden like in Svealand or Uppland, where people gather material for their bonfires for months ahead....

For most of the Swedes...Valborg just means the end of the winter season and there is no better way to celebrate it than singing Spring songs. Spring songs and choral singing are very typical of the Swedish Valborg celebrations, with many of the traditional songs dating from as back as the 19th century....

Current and graduated students party all day and all night, and even perhaps longer than that, wearing all the time their characteristic white graduation caps. Valborg is a double national festivity in Sweden because King Carl XVI Gustaf celebrates his birthday on Valborg's day, 30th of April. Swedish flags are raised all around the country to salute him and show him respect.

And although it doesn't appear that Waylon Jennings ever performed in Helsinki, someone who knew Waylon Jennings will be performing at Club Helsinki...in Massachusetts:

BOBBY SWEET

Friday, June 23rd - 9:00 - $10
Stunning Singer Songwriter

Every once in a while a singer/songwriter comes along that is able to speak volumes with simple, poignant songs. Listening to Bobby Sweet's music is a ride you’ll remember for a long time. His songs are the culmination of real-life experience and a lifetime of making music. Bobby is a fifth-generation musician. He began performing at age 7 in his father’s band, and left at 17 to pursue his widening musical interests. As a performer, Bobby has shared the bill with some of the top country and folk artists, including Vince Gill, Bill Staines, Bill Morrissey, Deana Carter, Bryan White, Arlo Guthrie, The Neilds, and Jess Klein. As a sought-after lead guitarist he has shared the stage with George Jones, Asleep at the Wheel, Willie Nelson, The Bellamy Brothers, Waylon Jennings, and many others.

I'm not Lisa...my name is Georgiane:

As I am a total socialist, I love living in Finland. Today is May Day or Vappu as it is called here. Well, I went the center today to check things out. It is traditional to have a picnic at Kaivopuisto. That is a park. Anyway, we got there and some people had a portable sauna. It is tradition to wear they ylioppilas lakki which is the white graduation cap they get from finishing lukkio which is like high school.

Of course, people go to high school in different places:

Oh, yes, as it is the custom to wear the cap you get for graduation from 'high school', I wore mine compliments of 1988 Azusa High. Just so I looked ever bit as clownish as the rest of the folk, I also wore my lettermen (varsity) jacket. Maybe that is why the cops were smiling. They were laughing at me not with me.

So A Chicana in Helsinki confuses the populace. Sweet.