Penkkarit (more formally penkinpainajaiset, "benchpressing [fest]", or bänkskuddardagen("penkis, penkisdagen") in Swedish) is a yearly tradition among Finnish upper secondary school (Finnish: lukio) students. The event is celebrated in the spring of their final, usually third, year as the final day of school, before the start of the matriculation exams. Traditionally, the date of penkkarit is a Thursday in late or mid-February.
The celebration of the penkkarit varies from school to school. Usually, the school-leaving students dress as for a masquerade, following a theme decided by themselves.
Penkkarit