Candy is Dandy but Liquor is Quicker

Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker.
-- Ogden Nash

« A small gallery of photos of Helsinki teenagers having fun at Penkkarit 2006. »

I love penkkarit [read No more Latin, No more French... if you are unfamiliar with the tradition] as it's hard not to enjoy trucks filled with drunk, happy teenagers tossing candy into the streets of Helsinki. At my Catholic high school, the nuns let us have a full day of mass for such sorts of events. They sure knew how to have fun. It's no wonder my entertainment threshold is so low. I'm sure the just the thought of penkkarit would have given them all the vapours.

Last year I swore that, since I had the flu, next year I would go down to the Merisatama on the southern edge of town to take pictures [ see map of penkkarit routes (~400k)from the HS. These don't change much from year to year, if at all]. This year I had a blistering migrane due to my tooth problem, but I forced myself to go as it was an unusually beautiful sunny day and penkkarit always makes me smile.

The HS had an interesting article about the history and folklore of Penkkarit (~60k pdf, suomeksi). Helena Saarikoski is apparently the folklorist in residence on Penkkarit and has published a study, Kouluajan kivoin päivä. Folkloristinen tutkimus penkinpainajaisperinteestä. English Summary: The Best School Day. A Folkloristic Study on the Tradition of “Penkinpainajaiset”. 240p. Helsinki: SKS (Finnish Literature Society) 1994, on the folklore and traditions over the years that looks very interesting.

I know the kids look forward to it, but it's funny how one of the dog owners in the park commented how taking the young kids down to the park to get the candy is a cherished pastime and, given the number of kids barely old enough to walk who were going for the shiny bits in the snow, I can understand why. Spring is on its way.