People are entering into their 30s with a bang

Extravagant parties fill the void between secondary school graduation and wedding

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By Tiina Leinonen
     
      “In life there has to be a balance between the everyday routines and festivities. And in good celebrations you don't skimp on the bubbly”, Riikka Oksanen shouts over the pounding music, while making preparations for her 30th birthday party.
      Oksanen walks around in her stilettos delivering instructions to her friends, who have promised to help her to organise the party.
      Diamond glitter already sparkles on the eyelids, but the 24 bottles of sparkling wine reserved for the occasion still lie on the floor in a sports bag.
     
The seventy invited guests should arrive within minutes.
      The hostess rolls out the red carpet on the muddy walkway and lights the outdoor candle pots.
      “We have mud on our shoes. Is that ok?” ask the members of the hired band while bringing in their instruments.
     
Riikka Oksanen is not the only one to celebrate the milestone of her 30th birthday in such a way. Women in particular have become increasingly interested in lavishing out on the festivities in the same fashion as people normally do when they turn fifty.
      A large venue is rented, a band and a DJ are hired, and food and sufficient quantities of drinks are served.
      A hairdo by a professional hairstylist and a new frock are also standard operating procedure.
      Often people pair up when organising such events, for having fun comes at a price.
      Oksanen is sharing the festivities and their cost, EUR 2,500 in all, with her friend Anne Metsola.
      “With that kind of money one could easily travel somewhere, but a party is a way to thank the people that have been there for me to provide support in various situations in my life thus far”, Metsola reasons.
     
“Such celebrations are getting more and more extravagant”, says Teppo Korhonen, Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki's Department of Ethnology.
      Korhonen ties the phenomenon to the present way of the world: “Everything has to be grand and imposing. The celebrations become more and more colourful and noisy.”
      “Through tourism, the mixing of cultures, and the pages of women’s magazines the Anglo-American habits have made landfall in Finland”, Korhonen says.
      But as far as birthday gifts are concerned, people stick to the tried and tested traditions. The women receive jewellery and more bubbly beverages.
     
Some build their party around a chosen theme. Typically, when approaching their thirties, people start to reminisce nostalgically over the years of their childhood and youth, and so the theme can be, for instance, a holiday destination that was visited as a child. "Las Palmas" is not among the most unusual of party themes.
      With a rock or grunge theme one can return to her teenage years, as did Leena Kangas from Helsinki.
      “People showed up in army surplus jackets, band T-shirts, torn jeans, and woollen caps as was typical for the mid 1990s grunge style. Of course we listened to the most loved records of those days, Nirvana and Pearl Jam”, Kangas reminisces on her birthday party from last year.
      At Oksanen and Metsola’s party people will be dancing to the hits of the 90s.
     
In the old days a 24-year-old single woman was considered an old maid.
      The requirements of today’s society keep the 20-somethings busy with their studies and part-time jobs, but that is not necessarily seen as a bad thing.
      “Another decade has been added to one’s youth”, Oksanen says cheerfully.
      For many, the 30th birthday marks the gateway to adulthood. Hence it deserves to be celebrated.
      “This will be the last party among a group of friends. The ones after this will be family occasions”, points out Oksanen’s friend Mia Kähärä.
     
In their thirties people get married, start a family, establish a career, and purchase a home; in other words, they start concentrating on the sort of sensible things by which adulthood is measured.
      “I used to think that I have to have a house and children, but I have come to realise that one cannot plan your life as a package deal”, Metsola ponders.
      “When one turns 30, that is a good day to stop and think what one has already achieved in life”, continues Andrae Holmberg.
     
The time is nearing 2 a.m. and the guests are starting to leave. The remaining sparkling wine is poured into the punch bowl.
      The festivities end in a good and peaceful spirit. The premises where the celebration took place, Magito in Helsinki’s Suvilahti district, go quiet again, perhaps even surprisingly early.
      “That is the difference, you see, compared to the parties of yesteryear. This is how grownups celebrate”, smiles Oksanen and switches off the lights.
     
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 23.11.2009

More on this subject:
 BACKGROUND: This is how the birthday was prepared
 FACTFILE: Birthdays are celebrations of one’s life

TIINA LEINONEN / Helsingin Sanomat
hs.elama@hs.fi