"The University of Helsinki holds its conferment ceremony only once every four years and carries on a European tradition that has been lost in many countries but has been going on in Finland, with few changes, for the past 360 years. For this occasion, 12 professors were selected from various countries and disciplines to receive honorary doctorates.
" The conferment ceremony over three days included a rehearsal dinner, official ceremony in a large hall with several hundred degree recipients, banquet, cathedral service, boat trip to an island for a picnic, and concluding ball. In the official ceremony, honorary doctors were prominently paraded and I received a special hat (representing academic wisdom) and sword (representing the force of reason, I think) that can be worn only by such recipients.
"The feeling of emerging from the ceremonial hall on the town square near the front of a narrow procession, to a red carpet that had been laid out, with the cathedral bells ringing and people lining the streets with cameras, was overwhelming.
"I was also impressed by the symbolism in the final ball, which involved the following: various traditional dances from 7:30 to 10:00, carrying around various key individuals on a throne (including a representative honorary doctor), 'kicking out' the degree-granting professor under a tunnel of swords at midnight so that the real party could begin, marching and singing with several hundred people through the streetsof Helsinki at 2:30 am, so that statues of various Finnish poets and other important characters could be lauded and, finally, greeting the sun with more speeches and champagne at 4 A.M.
"The university's conferment ceremony in Finland dates back to 1643 in the city of Turku and was moved to the new capital of Helsinki, along with the university, in 1828. The literature I received from the university indicated that 'through most of the 19th century the conferment ceremonies were the only festive events in the country that the general public could enjoy, and graduands and their families were joined by large interested audiences. People journeyed from the countryside to the capital to take part in the festivities, which lasted several days. The conferment ceremony at some points also served to reinforce national unity and independence when the country was ruled by Sweden and then Russia."
Nelson Cowan