Sitsit is a traditional academic student feast organised in some universities in Finland, particularly in Åbo Akademi, University of Turku, Helsinki University of Technology and Helsinki University. They are also organised by a few non-academic organisations, such as the Turku Science Fiction Society. The tradition probably shares roots with traditional student feast in other parts of Europe, including Commercium, Tableround and Cantus. Plato is credited with the inception of academia: the body of knowledge, its development and transmission across generations. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... The Ã…bo Akademi University is a Swedish language university, founded in 1918 in Turku (Ã…bo in Swedish), Finland. ... The University of Turku (Finnish Turun yliopisto, Swedish Ã…bo universitet), located in Turku in southwestern Finland, is the second largest university in the country as measured by student enrolment. ... Auditorium of the main building. ... University of Helsinki is not to be confused with Helsinki University of Technology. ... Turku Science Fiction Society, or TSFS, is the oldest science fiction society in Finland. ... World map showing Europe Political map Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... A commercium is a traditional academic feast known at universities in most Middle and Eastern European countries. ... A cantus (Latin for singing, derived from canere), is an activity organised by Flemish and Dutch and Baltic student organisations and fraternities. ...

The participants of sitsit will sit around a table. During the feast a three-course meal in served. Depending on the occasion the meal may be simple or lavish. The proceedings are led by a master of ceremonies, whose responsibility is to uphold traditions and order songs, usually based on suggestions from the participants.

Singing is an integral part of sitsit. The songs include numerous drinking songs, some with a common tune with new words. In more formal sitsit, academic and patriotic songs, such as De Brevitate Vitae and Finlandia Hymn are sung. Many of the songs have words which are bawdy or mock political parties, certain nationalities or university teachers. It is customary to start with more formal songs and proceed to the bawdier ones as the party gets rowdier. Many songs have their own associated traditions. For example, a special song is sung while punsch is served. De Brevitate Vitae is a song in Latin that is a popular academic commercium song in many European countries. ... The Finlandia Hymn (in Finnish Finlandia-hymni) refers to a serene hymn-like section of the patriotic symphonic poem Finlandia, written in 1899 and 1900 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. ... Punsch (also known as Arrack Punch, Swedish Punch or Swedish Punsch) is a traditional Swedish liquor produced from arrack, neutral spirits, sugar, water, and various flavorings. ...

The same tradition also exists in Swedish academic tradition, where it is known as a sittning or, with an older term, sexa.