What is sitsit?

There was Suursitsit-event on the Senate Square in front of the Helsinki Cathedral! It was meant to celebrate the University of Helsinki's 375^th anniversary and the 150^th year anniversary of the sudent cap. Also the event shows for all to see the students' festival traditions. Very many students and academic communities covered the square to celebrate the joyful traditions of the Academic Table Feast for the second time in the history (the first one was in 2012).

So what is Sitsit? It's a special academic dinner party where people can sing songs, drink wines/beers, chit-chat, and enjoy the miscellaneous and unexpected programs. Each sitsit has its own theme and dressing codes. In addtion, after parties are usually arranged after Sitsi dinners.

To start with, people stand behind their seats and wait for the toastmaster's announcement. After his small speech, he proclaim the next song ("Helan går") and everybody starts to sing. You can see there are small booklets with lyrics and shot glass with vodka in front of you. Songs are mostly in Finnish but there are also some in German, Swedish, and English. Some of them are really hilarious (you might be surprised ;) ) and you need to stand up and dance the way it requires.

You have to follow the rules and regulations instructed by the toastmaster. It's important to keep the dinner under control so everybody is able to enjoy it. Otherwise it would be chaotic and noisy. By following the rules you may avoid getting punished ;P

The big bell :P

Performance/Speech

In the center of table there is a big bell. You will hear "gong" if somebody wants to perform something. At that time people should listen to him/her and stay quiet on their seats. You will hear this "gong" again, again , and again... These interruptions continue through the whole evening so the whole dinner is full of speeches, drinking, singing, and performances e.g. dancing, and band. "Sitsit with cold food is a good Sitsit!"

During breaks people can leave their seats for example to buy more drinks from the bar, to walk around, to hang out and so on. It's also recommended to go to the toilet during the break since this is the only time you are able to go around ;)

Actually I have participated in only a few Sitsit, because this is not quite my thing and sometimes I think it's too noisy for me :P. But it's really nice to enjoy the "dinner" with your friends and make new friends. It feels good to wear suits one in a while. I can also sing some song without lyrics haha XD Sitsits are really funny and interesting. If you are interested in Sitsit, but the language (Finnish) is the problem to you, I really recommend you to participate in International Sitsit that is arranged around twice a year (in the autumn and spring semester).

More information about the event, just check out these websites:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1565227897065454/ (facebook event)
http://www.esnjyvaskyla.com/news/sitsit-101-two-viewpoints (sitsit rules)