Danish High School Graduation

This afternoon I witnessed how Danish high school students celebrate graduation. I was out running some errands and I didn't have my camera or iPad with me to take pictures, so I'll just have to describe what I saw.

Today was the last day of school in Denmark, which is an especially big celebration for those finishing high school. When Danish students pass their last high school exam, they get a special hat to wear. I've been seeing young people wearing this for the past week or so.

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This afternoon, groups of students were riding around Copenhagen in trucks with open backs (think army truck, not pickup truck), wearing their hats, honking their horns, cheering and waving (you can see a short video of this here). I then ended up riding behind a group of female students having a bike parade. Two of them had cargo bikes which they had decorated with plants and Danish flags. The group was riding along ringing their bells and honking horns. They passed a café where a lot of people were sitting outside and the students waved and shouted at the people sitting in the café. To my surprise, almost everyone waved back and some even shouted congratulations. That is not very Danish behavior, but from talking with Danish friends, it seems that high school graduation is a big deal and that people are reminded of being young and celebrating their own graduation.

Apparently the parties will continue all weekend, so I will probably see some more trucks of students driving around...