Happy May Day!

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  • Saka's Avatar
    Level 52
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    In many countries the 1st of May is a national holiday, in Europe it is mostly International Workers' Day that is celebrated. Some countries like to be different though, and for example Finns celebrate Vappu, Walpurgis Night.
    Finns, similarly to hobbits, seem to be very food driven and the way to observe the progress of the year is to check the food of the season. Since early April shelves were filling up with Tippaleipä, a crunchy snack from fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and sima, a fermented soft drink.

    In my home country, Poland, the 3rd of May was also a day off due to celebrating the anniversary of the first constitution of the country (which was the third in the world!). Many people take 2nd as a day off, the schools and universities are also closed on that day. This year it combines nicely with the weekend, making a mini vacation possible, which is the dream for many people. It's common to go for a little trip in that time, for example in the mountains. Poland has some gorgeous mountains, especially less touristy places are full of underrated surprises.

    Regardless of where you are, Happy May Day to everyone in the community!
    Unamused Snarktooth. Advocate for hearing loss & accessibility. Person, friend and a terrible/terrific* artist.
    *delete as appropriate
  • 43 Replies

  • Liue's Avatar
    Level 31
    Happy vappu! Hyvää vappua! 📣

    Do you have donuts by any chance? Munkki, mm. Tippaleipä is really tasty, but maybe I'm old school!
    Hey. o/ I'm Liue, gamer with epilepsy from Finland. I'm BBA, Business Information Technology student at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and been helping out Legion Gaming Community since the creation of this forum, March 2021. I was one of the first members whom joined and never looked back.

    For me, accessibility is close to my heart. As world is connected, I wish to develop digital services in a way that more and more people would have a chance to use them on their daily basis, no matter of disabilities.
  • Saka's Avatar
    Level 52
    I was invited for a donut tomorrow, so seems like donuts are in the menu for me! I actually can't have tippaleipä right now because of jaw injury, but had some earlier this month. Maybe I could get a pack and store for later too. 🤔
    Unamused Snarktooth. Advocate for hearing loss & accessibility. Person, friend and a terrible/terrific* artist.
    *delete as appropriate
  • DoctorEldritch's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Saka Happy May Day indeed. In my neck of the woods, we celebrate International Worker's Day on the 1st. Though I do not think we have any particular food associated with that day, we have a lot to learn from Finns in that regard. But we do get a day off.

    This time, my aunt visited me on this day, so we did a bit of sightseeing short-distance travel. And the 1st of May also happens to be the birthday of my mother, so it was a triply happy occasion for me. But apart from that, not much to report. Though we have a coronation coming up later this week, so I imagine there will be some grander scale celebrations there.

    @Saka, I was surprised to learn that Walpurgis Night is on that date. But, to my shame, I was only briefly familiar with that celebration, having heard about it from Puella Magi Madoka Magica anime. Learned something new today thanks to you.

    On the subject of learning new things, I can imagine how dough with sugar on it tastes like, but what is the taste of sima?
  • Saka's Avatar
    Level 52
    @DoctorEldritch Sima tastes basically like a mildly fermented lemonade.
    Unamused Snarktooth. Advocate for hearing loss & accessibility. Person, friend and a terrible/terrific* artist.
    *delete as appropriate
  • DoctorEldritch's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Saka By lemonade you mean the traditional one, with a taste of lemon? And if it is fermented, does it have a small alcohol percentage, too?
  • Saka's Avatar
    Level 52
    @DoctorEldritch Aye, similar to traditional lemonade. The alcohol content is very low as sima is only fermented for a very short time, like a few days.
    Unamused Snarktooth. Advocate for hearing loss & accessibility. Person, friend and a terrible/terrific* artist.
    *delete as appropriate
  • DoctorEldritch's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Saka Interesting, I wonder if it is in any way connected to Federweisser, a lightly fermented young wine typical for Germany in the early weeks of grape harvest for winemaking.

    Why is sima traditional for this time of year, is there a reason for that? Something to do with harvest or something like that?
    Last edited by DoctorEldritch; 05-05-23 at 07:54.
  • Saka's Avatar
    Level 52
    @DoctorEldritch Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a better answer than just a mention that it became associated with the Finnish labour movement and Walpurgis night sometime during the 20th century.
    Unamused Snarktooth. Advocate for hearing loss & accessibility. Person, friend and a terrible/terrific* artist.
    *delete as appropriate
  • DoctorEldritch's Avatar
    Community Manager
    @Saka I guess it could be the calendar thing. Walpurgis Night sounds a bit similar in some aspects to Russian Maslenitsa, but that is celebrated in February. It is interesting how both events have straw figure burning involved, but the meaning seems to be different. But one can't help but wonder if there is some sort of deeper connection or parallel between the two.