Many people consider the years of studentship the most fun and interesting period in life, because it is at this time that a person meets many new acquaintances and friends, has an interesting time and constantly learns something new. In the life of each student there is his own tradition or ritual, which he observes regularly, and in some countries such customs have reached the national level. Some of them can be called funny, and some are strange, but they still delight students from different countries and charge them with energy and strength for successful study.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
This university is considered one of the most prestigious in all the United States and in the world. Students of this institution devote a lot of time to studying, so there is not much left for entertainment and recreation, but they realize their free hours to the fullest.
Every year, students gather on the roof of their dormitory and drop the piano from it: each time they get a musical instrument for free, because it is broken and cannot be repaired. It is believed that the tradition appeared among Americans in 1972, and the first to throw off the roof was a student named Charlie Bruno. According to legend, a technical student gathered with his neighbors to figure out where to put a broken piano that takes up a lot of space. One of the students suggested throwing it out the window, but the rules of the university did not allow throwing anything out of the windows - and the piano would not fit there. Then Bruno noticed that the law does not apply to the roof of the dormitory, and the students carried the tool upstairs, and then threw it down.
Now the ritual is held every spring, when students receive the right to exclude certain subjects from their program for the spring semester without receiving any punishment for this.
Swedish and Uppsala Universitiy
On the territory of Sweden is the town of Uppsala, in which there is a student district of Flogsta - there live students of the Swedish and Uppasle universities, who have a unique custom. If you visit the area at 10 pm, the traveler will hear that from the windows of local hostels you can hear loud screams of hundreds of students – they open the windows and shout as much as they want to get rid of the stress accumulated during the day. The tradition of shouting in the evenings among Swedish students appeared more than 50 years ago, and the city authorities do not prevent students from relieving tension.
Japan
Before the exams, students of each country worry and begin to believe more in the signs and the power of rituals for good luck. Someone shouts "freebie, come!", someone does not wash their hair before the day of the exam, and someone enters the office with their left foot. Students of Japanese universities, for example, before exams buy chocolate "KitKat" - but do not eat it, but use it as a talisman. In Japanese, there is a phrase kitto katsu, which translates as "you will definitely cope" - and the name KitKat is consonant with this expression, so for the Japanese sweetness has become a talisman of good luck before difficult exams.
Spanish University of Salamanca
The educational institution, located in Spain, is recognized as one of the oldest in the whole of Europe. The building itself is decorated with stone carvings, the detail of which is striking - these little things can be looked at for many hours. New students are engaged in looking at the facade, but they do not always do this because they admire the subtlety of the work - they are looking for a frog. According to legend, the one who finds a frog among hundreds of other figures is the fastest to find a frog will be successful in his studies and will never get a bad grade.
University of St. Edrus
Students in this Scottish university in the first weeks feel at home, because everyone treats them as if they were their own children. Each freshman of the university receives "parents", whose roles are performed by undergraduates: experienced students accompany beginners to the classrooms, explain all the rules, and introduce them to the peculiarities of student life. In response to the "parental" care, young students used to give raisins to senior students, and those who forgot about the gift, the "parents" bathed in the fountain. Now raisins are increasingly replaced by a bottle of wine, and bathing in the fountain was swept out by a massive foam battle.
Cornell University
In the early years of the twentieth century, students of Cornell University, who were engaged in the study of architecture, decided to create their own holiday, combining St. Patrick's Day, architecture and dragons. According to legends, it was St. Patrick who drove the snakes from the Irish lands. Students decided to increase the size of snakes, and since the 1950s, a figure of a huge dragon appeared at their own festival, which was made by freshmen. The dragon has become a symbol of the eponymous holiday - Dragon Day. St. Patrick's Day takes place every March 17, and the Feast of Architects takes place at the end of the month, before the beginning of spring break.
Stanford University
Students of one of the most prestigious universities in the world every first full moon of the semester gather in the courtyard of the university to observe a love ritual. The student should approach the person he likes and kiss him. Dozens of people on this day confess their love to their future partners!
The symbol and talisman of this tradition is a tree, or rather, a student who dresses up as a tree and walks in the crowd of his comrades. Any person to whom the "tree" approaches will have to kiss him - the refusal is not accepted, so as not to violate the sanctity of tradition.
Share your student traditions that you remember – these are always unique and amazing memories, we will be very happy to listen!
