Photos: High school graduates bring colour, choreography and chaos to Croatia

Croatia yesterday awoke to the traditional and noisy celebrations of graduating high school students. Students all over the country hit the streets early in the morning for a full day of celebrations, many of them adorned with faculty t-shirts, whistles and flags. After joining colleagues at school, celebrations were taken out onto city streets, town squares and parks, the partying unmissable to anyone in the country because of the noise and colourfulness which accompanied it.



This year, the eastern city of Osijek seems to have won the graduation day choreography stunt, as students formed a huge Facebook like in the centre of town (above), as captured in this brilliant aerial photograph taken by Šime Strikoman.



Frivolities went on long into the night, but also started early too; Time Out Croatia was sent anonymously the above photo showing the gin and tonic smuggled into one Zagreb faculty within water bottles. Despite some media outlets focussing their attention on a small number of drunken students chanting forbidden Nazi-era slogans (in one video, some were also seen to defend other aspects of nationalism, which would appear unsavoury to many outsiders), the nationwide celebrations were largely kind-spirted, playful and joyous. Most students arrived home safely and soundly in time for bed, although some were seen to have made alternative sleeping arrangements.