Friday Bliss # 189 - Happy First of May!

April comes to its end and the spring has come even to Finland. The snow has melted away 

and I have started to work in the garden. There are tiny signs of new growth: 

crocuses, scillas and bursting buds. I got these sunny tulips from a visiting friend

and combined them with lime button chrysanthemums.

Selma and Silva got sterilized and they wore this kind of protectic wear,

which was much more comfortable than collar. The first days they were tired 

but are now their lively selves. They will celebrate their 8 month birthday on May 2.

Vappu - May Day and the eve of First of May are traditional big celebrations in Finland

with student caps, balloons, booze, tippaleipä and sima / mead, a fermented citrus drink.

But I have grown too old for extravagances and prefer take it easy and stay home!

Skål to Spring & Happy First of May!

🍀🍀🍀

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Welcome Walpurgis Night & May!

Every spring the speed of the nature surprises me. Only a few warm days

are enough to grow buds in the shrubs and trees  ❤︎

The blooming of crocus and Salix caprea has gone, scillas are withering, but

Omphalodes verna blooms in blue carpets - so beautiful.

Walpurgis Night festivities in different countries -

Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands & England.

We don't have many carnival days in Finland, but Walpurgis Night & the 1st of May
surely belong to them. This two day celebration is called Vappu.

Young and old put their student caps on, kids have colourful balloons, 

people camp in parks and drink champagne or some heavier stuff and chorus are singing.

In addition to booze we Finns drink sima and eat tippaleipä / funnel cakes at Vappu.

Sima is a sweet sparkling brew that is mainly seasonal. It is usually spiced by adding both 

the flesh and rind of a lemon. The alcohol content is very low due to limited fermentation. 

I don’t personally like tippaleipä, but here is a link telling how they are made.

Happy First of May! - Hauskaa vappua!
And a lovely May of course! - Ja ihanaa toukokuuta myös!

- riitta

// MAKROTEX - MONTHLY COLLAGES
// WILLY-NILLY

// MOSAIC MONDAY

// DIGITAL ART TUESDAY

For Jutta’s project also the originals.
The student cap is my husband’s. He has a pompom because he studied architecture, 
I studied marketing, no pompom for me!

Floral Bliss #70

Foto: Public domain

This week's Floral Bliss is posted already today for I want to wish you Happy May Day! 

We don't have many carnival days in Finland, but the 1st of May surely is one of them.

We call these two day celebrations by the name Vappu.

Young and old put their student caps on, kids have colourful balloons, 

people camp in parks and drink champagne or some heavier stuff and chorus are singing.

CC-BY-SA-3.0

The famous statue in the first photo is situated near the market place in the centre of Helsinki 

and is called Havis Amanda.

It is designed by the sculptor Ville Vallgren and since 1908 the statue has delighted 

both citizens of Helsinki as well as tourists.

At 6 o'clock pm on the 30th of April students put a huge white student cap on her head.

Usually there is a big & loud audience. I'm too old for these crowds and prefer to stay at home.

Last year I made this collage to the Color Collage Challenge.

It seems that we got some new snow near Vappu last year - I had totally forgotten!

Colors of Vappu - showing also my husband's student cap.

The pompom in his cap means that he was a student of technology, I studied marketing - no pompom.

I connect red roses to the political celebrations of the 1st of May.

In my garden Rosa rugosa 'Rotes Meer' is most close to red,
so I chose a cut red rose from March 2017 & another from my garden.

I just have to add this lovely Spring Banner that my friend Milli made for my book blog.

If you need some visual help, please contact her.

...

Jos kaipaat visuaalista apua jossain, kurkkaa & ota yhteyttä: 

Instagram / @millinmaa - kuvia galleriassa Millisesti.

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FROM TUESDAY 4 PM TILL THE NEXT MONDAY 4 PM

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Please join & share your photos with us!

All previous Floral Bliss

Wishing you a great May Day! - Hyvää vappua!

An InLinkz Link-up

Vapun värit - Colors of 1st of May

That skull with a big scary eye is a lamp :))

Color Collage 18 / 2017

Happy May Day! - Hyvää vappua!

The next Makrotex Challenge is SPRING.

Räntä - sleet - wet snow is very usual in Finland 

when May Day celebrations approach.

But I have never ever seen this much snow on the 30st of April!

We call May Day Vappu. It is a celebration of workers and students, young and old.

Everybody puts his or her white student cap on... Read more of the Vappu in Finland!

Photo: Visit Finland

No champagne or sima on our terrace today....

Gartenglück
Mosaic Monday
Makrotex Challenge / Spring

Take care - stay warm!

Vappu finlandés

Pronto estará aquí - el primero de Mayo y Vappu finlandés! Es una fiesta que hace enloquecer toda la gente. Celebramos la primavera y el comienzo de verano. Sí, verdad - con este tiempo. Cada año es lo mismo: va a llover, quizás nevar pero nos vestimos con ropa ligera de verano...

Realmente es el único carnaval que tenemos, nosotros introvertidos finlandeses. Pero Vappu nos hace extrovertidos y alegres, muy sociales. Bailamos toda la noche, hacemos ruido en las calles - y naturalmente bebemos, y mucho.

Comida típica: sima y tippaleipä

Me he dado cuenta con mucha alegría que tengo algunos amigos y amigas hispanohablantes. De Portugal, España,  Sudamerica, Brasil...  Por eso pensé dejaros algunos enlaces que cuentan sobre el Vappu finlandés. Espero que os gusten!

Uno / Dos / Tres / Cuatro