We arrived back in Copenhagen from Bornholm on Friday afternoon, June 28th, the day tens of thousands of Danish 19 year olds celebrated their successful “Studenter Exams” and graduation from Gymnasium (high school). On this auspicious day, tradition calls for each student to wear a white, maroon and gold “Studenter hue” (cap) and for each class to pile together in a vehicle and visit the home of every student in the class; partying loudly from beginning to end.
In the olden days, students used horse-drawn carriages. This is the modern conveyance that was parked across the street from Lise and Vincent’s. There were three more in the immediate neighborhood and hundreds more throughout Copenhagen that night.
With 20 – 25 kids per class and each visit lasting a half hour, you can calculate how long this takes and how far into the night the revelry can be heard. The other part of this tradition is that each set of parents is expected to welcome the celebrants with a sumptuous repast of edible goodies, beer and well-spiked punch. With 20 – 25 houses to visit, imagine how plastered the kids become. Lise laughs and recounts how when her daughter’s graduating class arrived at her house several years ago, one young man reached for one of her carefully hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries and face planted into the plate; and their house was only mid-way through the line-up.
Having spent a couple of years in Denmark as a kid — one as a 16 year old — I’m quite comfortable with the Danish approach to student parties and beer (rest assured there is no post-party drinking and driving). On the other hand, having just been in Kenya, I have a heightened sensitivity for unique cultural rituals. Though Kenya is near the bottom of the socio-economic index and Denmark is near the top, they both celebrate rites of passage from childhood into adulthood that would be illegal in the United States.