May Day celebrations begin across country

The Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) got the honour of capping Manta this year. Students also placed caps on statues in other parts of the country including Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä and Oulu. On May 1, the traditional parade of May Day will be organized by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), which will start at 10:00 am from Hakaniemi Square and move around the city centre and near the Senate Square. The traffic movement will be disrupted and the police advised people to avoid travelling with a car in the City centre from 5:00 pm on Thursday to 12 noon on Friday. President Alexander Stubb and First Lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb, will receive the traditional May Day greetings in Helsinki on May Day, Friday. The event will begin in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace at 10.00, when school children representing Folkhälsan will present the presidential couple with a Mayflower. The Mayflower is a charity pin sold as part of an annual fundraising campaign organised by Folkhälsan, a civil society organisation. The proceeds from the Mayflower, Finlands oldest charity badge, are used for the benefit of children and young people. Stubb and Mrs Innes-Stubb will be greeted by the Finnish Workers Music Federation. This year, the musical greeting will be performed by the wind band Hyvinkäänkylän Puhallinorkesteri. The event in the front of the Presidential Palace will conclude with greetings from the Student Union of the University of Helsinki, the choir Akademiska Sångföreningen and the YL Male Voice Choir starting. As the event continues at the Presidential Palace, students from Aalto University will present the presidential couple with a copy of Wappulehti Julkku, the May Day comic magazine published by the students. People are welcome to watch the outdoor event from the Market Square and Pohjoisesplanadi from 10.00 to 11.00. Helsinki Police decided to beef up security measures during the celebration of Vappu celebrations between Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, due to May Day celebrations, there will be alterations in both long-distance and commuter services. As is tradition, a variety of events and demonstrations take place on May Day and Police assured to ensure safety at the demonstrations and handle the related traffic control. Some streets around the Esplanade Park and Kaivopuisto will be closed. International Workers Day marks the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for their legitimate rights, including an eight-hour working day. The firing resulted in the deaths of several demonstrators and police officers. May 1 was adopted as International Workers Day by socialist delegates in Paris in 1889. More than 400 delegates met in Paris on the centenary of the French revolution at the Marxist International Socialist Congress, the founding meeting of the Second International. The 1889 resolution called for a one-time demonstration but it became an annual event in the course of time. May Day was celebrated in Russia, Brazil and Ireland first in 1891. The day is a public holiday in most countries.