Valborg: An event with a class of its own!

Even though the world has shrunk owing to all the technologies surrounding us and people are more aware of the different cultures around but still there are certain events that have not reached the fame they should have. “Valborg” a Swedish event to celebrate the arrival of spring is one such wonderful event. I was honored to be at Valborg very recently and would love to share my experience during a short but a wonderful stay during this event in Upsalla, Sweden.

It all started with a plan of university friends to have a grand reunion in Sweden. A long weekend was coming due to the holiday on the 1^st of May so the time seemed perfect for a short trip. Our Swedish friends told us that it was a good time to visit as this is the time to visit Valborg. It was the first time I ever heard of this event and so looked it up on internet. What I basically found out was that it’s an event where everybody gets drunk and wasted. The idea of thousands of drunk people walking the streets didn’t strike me much as an attraction but the friends persisted that it is an event worth seeing.

This event is mostly associated to the students and is celebrated in cities like Stockholm, Lund, Linkoping and Upsalla. Upsalla has a very big and renowned university and the city is crowded with students everywhere. The central and the most expensive part of the city is owned by student factions called “Nations”. The student nations represent the students from different parts of Sweden. Each nation has its own student housing, clubs, bars , libraries, sports teams etc. Only students have access to the nations so this is the part where u will find the most educated lot.

Norrlandsnation

During Valborg a rafting competition takes place. These rafts are hand made by students and they spend several weeks preparing them. Just outside the Angstrom Labs they prepare a special perimeter dedicated to the constructors of the rafts. This itself becomes a festival as students move into tents and construct some bars and play grounds around their work area. Each boat is big enough to carry 4 to 6 people and is based on a theme. I saw some ninja turtle rafts, some Russian rafts, a tea cup , a dragon , a rage comic boat and dozens of others under construction.

The day of the valborg starts with a very special breakfast, called the champagne breakfast that starts early morning near a lake that flows through the heart of the city. All citizens of Upsalla crowd the streets this morning with their picnic baskets ready for a morning breakfast near the lake. The purpose is to see the boat competition where the students bring in their creations. The rafts passing through the lake is a wonderful sight. All these wonderful colors spread in the water and the  rafts having small skirmishes with special weapons like oranges and eggs make it a wonderful sight. The lake has two big waterfall type deep slopes and the  rafts have to survive that and generally most of them are too fragile to pass through this area. Its really fun to see the  rafts going through these challenges.

After the raft competition finishes people spread around the city and occupy virtually every green patch around to party in the open. Loud music, themed clothes and blue caps is something that is visible all around. At 3 pm The university chancellor gives a speech at the university library for a couple of minutes and wishes everyone happy spring and this is where they change hats from blue to white that marks the beginning of spring and they all run towards their respective nations. A huge waiting line forms in front of the nations where the students wait to party hard until it gets dark.

Uppsala has a beautiful castle built on a  35-metre high hill to the southwest of the University Library. The valborg festivity reaches its peak with a royal dinner in the castle followed by a ball dance that is more or less like a prom. The best part is the special dress for the occasion. The men have special Tuxedos that have tails and are named as tailed suits and really look quite brilliant. The women dress up with long dresses that look magnificent and give an aura of a real royal gathering.

The dinner finishes around 9 followed by an orchestra and ball dances. Out of all the dances the stand out version is the typical Swedish dance where the couples spin together with their suits opening up as flower petals. As the clock ticks to midnight all the lights go out. Candles are brought to the middle of the hall and all women sit around them. The men stand up facing the women and then start singing some cultural songs. I was marveled by how perfect their singing was, like they have practiced it for years and years. The singing continues for twenty minutes or so and then the dancing resumes.

Sadly I left at 00:30am to catch my flight but I have been told that the evening continues till 2 am. It is true that by the end of the day you have thousands of drunk people walking amongst the streets but the fact that there is no event of violence or rape suggests how well behaved and controlled Swedish people are.

The beauty of this event cannot be described in words or presented with photographs. You have to live through this event to capture the vibes and all those glorious moments that inspire you throughout the day.

If you ever plan to visit Swden, do put Uppsala in your list and remember the all important 30^th of April, the Valborg day.

Even though you might not get a chance to see the nations from the inside but you can go to the castle for the ball. And if you have the tailed suits then you can join in for the dinner too.

For the next Valborg we plan to make our own boat, maybe the “Forever alone” boat from rage comics. Let’s see if this idea comes to fruition.

In the end I can say that this was the biggest and the best of the cultural and student events I have ever seen in my life. I feel lucky to have been there and I would love to present my gratitude towards our great Swedish hosts, Rebecka and Andreas that made it possible to live through these wonderful moments. Maybe one day I will invite them to see some festivities in Pakistan too J.

* I will update the pictures as soon as i gather them from all the friends. the pictures above have been used just to give an idea about the event !