It was a beautiful afternoon in Sweden. The sun was shining, and the streets were crowded with pedestrians.
My sister and I were walking down Stora Södergatan in Lund, a very Main Street kind of area, when we suddenly heard screams echoing along the cobblestone streets.
Accompanied by the honking of horns and a pumping techno beat.
And in the latest episode of What on Earth is going on here?, I recognized my friends’ descriptions of graduation ceremonies in Sweden. So this is what you meant when you said you drive around and party in trucks. And all this time I figured that it was some sort of metaphor that had been lost in translation…
Giant trucks rolling through the center of medieval Lund, loaded heavy with screaming, jumping kids, all wearing funny hats.
This is not your average day in Lund. Photos: Kate Wiseman.
Not to mention that, as I think you can see in the photos above, there were trees on board. Pretty big trees. Uhhh… why?
When I was home in the United States last month for my sister’s college graduation (university, for those non-American readers), people here wanted to know whether she would be wearing one of those black hats and throwing it into the air. (Thank you, Hollywood, and yes.)
My friends and English students seemed totally fascinated by that tradition and a little jealous. Now that I’ve gotten a little taste of the graduation madness in Sweden, I have to say… do you have any idea how much we would love this sort of thing in the US? Costumes! Flags! LOUD NOISES!
The row of trucks (and one monster tractor) drove through town for about five hours or so, playing music on full blast, screaming and cheering, and dancing around. Lund’s not an especially large town, so they drove through the same streets, over and over again, not losing any of their enthusiasm as time went on. I heard echoing shouts and party music from my apartment late into the night and laughed. What a hilarious day.
Partying, partying, YEAH! Photos: Kate Wiseman.
But then it happened again the next day…
And the day after that I saw more students parading through Malmö on foot with whistles and horns…
And always with the hats! The sailor hats are following me!
It seems as though this will be going on for a week or so, as each school in town does their own parade and monster truck mania.
The students are graduating from gymnasium, which doesn’t translate very well to the American educational system, but is sort of like a college prep school or a secondary education that you do before choosing what you want to study as a major or a specialization. The people you see in the photos are about 18/19 years old.
Next year, the majority of them will be working, traveling, and studying a little on the side while they get some life experience and try to decide what they want to study at the university. It seems like a good system.
This is probably one of the most hilarious and un-Swedish-ly excessive celebrations I’ve seen yet. The graduates looked like they were having the time of their lives… so awesome!
Grattis! (Congratulations!) to all the graduating students!