PENKKARIT!

Penkkarit is a yearly tradition among Finnish upper secondary school (Finnish: lukio) students. The event is celebrated in the spring of their final, usually third, year as the final day of school, before the start of the matriculation exams. Traditionally, the date of penkkarit is a Thursday in late or mid-February.

The celebration of the penkkarit varies from school to school. Usually, the school-leaving students dress as for a masquerade, following a theme decided by themselves. The event often includes following elements

 

school-leavers visiting the classes of junior students, interrupting the teaching and replacing it with a parody class.

throwing candy at the junior students

visiting lower secondary or primary school, meeting old teachers and throwing candy

singing parodic songs about the teachers

 

The ceremonies usually end with the school-leavers riding away from the school on lorries decorated for the purpose. The design of the decorations is usually a mixture of pride in and insult at the own school.

In larger towns, the penkkarit culminate at a parade where the lorries drive across the city at a slow speed, and the final-year students on top of them shouting slogans and throwing candy at passers-by. The event is particularly popular among children, who come to the streets to collect free candy.

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Uploaded on February 16, 2012
Taken on February 16, 2012