Last of April in Uppsala Sweden

The last of April, otherwise called Valborg, is a holiday which is celebrated in Sweden. The holiday (though most people do not actually get it off), is basically a “coming of spring” celebration. Most of Sweden has to work during the day, but not in Uppsala. If you find yourself in Sweden for the last of April, the only place to be is in Uppsala. It is a full day of activities.

There is a strict set of guidelines that one has to follow in order to do everything in the traditional set (though in reality, it does not matter at all). You start the day off with rice porridge, strawberries and champagne. The funny part about this is that most students never make it to class first thing in the morning or never actually get up before 10, except for today. Breakfast has to completed by 8:30, because at 8:30 you head to the centre of town for the boat races.

The boat race is a little special. The tradition goes back 20 some odd years when a couple of engineering students were out drinking (as students do) and decided that they were going to build a boat to float down the Fyris river which goes down the centre of town. Every year since then, students have built boats out of Styrofoam. The night before the big “race”, everyone builds their boat in the soccer field of a local high school. At 9 the next morning the race begins. The boat are usually creative. I have seen everything from a huge longhorn cow, the Millennium Falcon or a bowl of spaghetti from the Italian exchange students. It is not so much a race, but more of float down the river and through the rapids. Most of the boats are destroyed going down the rapids, which is part of the fun.

After the race, everyone either heads to the local System Bolaget (the only place in Sweden to buy alcohol) or home for a little rest. At noon it is time for lunch. The traditional lunch of cooked potatoes and flavored sill is on the menu. The best place to have it is around the castle (only problem with this is that there is no toilets, 10,000 drinking students…). The food is important, but the most important part is the snaps and beer/cider.

At 3, all students gather below the library, located by the castle. The president of the University walks onto the balcony and makes a speech. No one can hear what he says, and in reality it does not matter. He then takes off his hat, which all students have, and waves it. Followed by all 10,000 students take off their caps and do the same. Then all at once everyone starts to run to one of the nations (student clubs) for Champagne.

Up to this point, it is pretty standardized. All students will be doing this with very little variation. In the evening, the activities will vary. Most people will do one of four activities. Every nation has a ball with a nice meal and lots of drinking, though you have to buy your tickets in advance for it. Another option would be to have/go to a personal party with lots of drinking. The final two are for the more boring type of people. At 7, the best choir in Uppsala, who is having their party in the castle, will come out and sing traditional spring songs. This is a nice option, even if you go to a party. The final event for the day is traditional for all of Sweden, they have a bonfire. The biggest is out by Old Uppsala. Of course, usually more drinking is involved for this as well, but you could also bring the family.

So if you find yourself in Sweden in the end of April, you need to try it out!