Sunday, April 6, 2008

Graduation



I have to admit, I dont know much about my topic today...at least not over here in Italy. But this is what I have learned or surmised over the last year.

Graduation from college takes place three times a year....one is coming up soon. How do I know this? Well, you start to see these large white sheets of paper with character drawings and lots of small print on them hanging on walls all over the city (I saw these in Bassano last week). Apparently, the person who is graduating makes these 'announcements' complete with ideal renderings of their looks and personality (as a foreigner in Italy, I can tell you that its always about boobs and butts!) . In the text, they talk about their accomplishments, the last 4 years of their life in school and others talk about them.

Then shortly before graduating, a group of their friends will 'kidnap' them, make them wear any of a variety of things or outfits that is pretty much deemed humiliating and parade them around the city. All the while, they are chanting this song that sounds vaguely familiar to the tune of Happy Birthday; because of the lyrics (as it was translated for me), I shouldnt really repeat it here. And for the life of me, I am not really sure what the song has to do with the graduation other than that is when they sing it.

This is all an interesting tradition and one of which I cant relate since both of my grad degrees came and went without me attending a ceremony! Oh well, to each his own.

1 comment:

Maveg said...

It happens only in the Veneto!!! All friends write this sheet, drawings are always boobs and butts..and some other things sometimes...they write all your life from your birth to the graduation in rhyme and...in venetian!!! :D It's a very important tradition in padua, they are proud of this!!!! ;)