Whilst in Finland in February, a few of us went in to the city of Tampere for some shopping and for some lunch, plus a general walk etc. It was very very cold on those slippery icy streets and yet the sun was shining and there were more people out and about on this particular day than I personally had seen in Tampere in the few times I had visited there in the weeks before.

And it soon became apparent why… As we were crossing Tampere’s main street, Hameenkatu, we heard a shouting and cheering sound coming from down the road. We looked down and saw … what? … trucks? … Eh? … The sound grew louder as the trucks approached and further trucks came into view down the road.

Before we knew it, the open back trucks were rumbling past, all with massive groups of young people crammed on the back, all shouting, screaming, laughing, and throwing sweets to the crowds which suddenly appeared beside the road.

What an unexpected event, the air so cold and yet so many people laughing and smiling. We had no idea what was going on at first, but soon realised it was some sort of end-of-year celebration for local students.

It was quite an event, with dozens of trucks going around the city on a loop, and the frozen participants on the back getting ever more bizarre in their costumes as things proceeded (and possibly drunker).

It was good. And so here is a photographic / video record of the event, as I thankfully had my camera handy.