May Day, Walpurgis Night and everyone’s loved Wappen. A beloved child has many names indeed! Every year, on the same day, the last of April, it’s time again for the same fussing about. Where to go for dinner, where or with whom to go for the after-party, and which queue to join afterwards? The air is filled with the spirit of festivity. The weeks before have been filled with fun events, there’s been something for everyone. A big thank you to the associations that keep our student culture inclusive, memorable, and alive.
But now the champagne is finally uncorked, the fancy shirts are on, and the student cap is close at hand on the way up the hill to Vårdbergsparken! Once up on Vårberget, Florakören and Brahe Djäknar await to sing in the spring while the association flags and the traditional May Day parade arrive behind them. The crowd in place is filled with anticipation but quickly falls silent when addressed with the words “Students, spring is here, put on your caps.” The thousands of caps that have been waiting at the ready are now put on, all at once, with joy and eagerness, the first day of spring is here!
There’s a song about the first day of spring, unsurprisingly called “The First Day of Spring” by Laleh. This song also happens to say everything I want to convey with this blog post, so here it goes (translated from the original lyrics in Swedish to English):
The first day of spring And I want to be there And I want to be so there So that I can see That I am a part of it all
The great day of spring And I want to be there Let me live longer Now that I can see
Come spring, come laughter Come tears in the night Let me be, let me be a little longer I am, I am not ready to go yet Let me exist, let me exist a little more
We all get to be there, to be a part of it all, we also see that we are, through the spring and the night, the tears but above all the laughter. Every year, on the same day, the last of April, we welcome the first day of spring.
