Scarlet Sails fill up the sky

As we walked along the Nevsky Prospect (an avenue in Saint Petersburg) at around 10pm on Saturday, we pondered on what the Scarlet Sails, one of Russia's biggest celebrations which has also been recognized on all European calendars, is all about. The more than half-a-century old event is held to commemorate the year's school graduates of Saint Petersburg or Leningrad and is not necessarily observed on any particular day but always features during the White Nights Festival timeframe.

This is what you can learn if you Google it but as we moved along the spacious roads, where traffic was suspended due to the gathering, we found ourselves in a swarm of thousands heading to the Winter Palace to be a part of a truly Russian festival.

A couple of kilometres down the road, we came to a checkpoint through which only the invited guests, graduates and their family, the numbers of which were no less than 80,000, were allowed to enter.

After showing our media passes we snaked our way in and reached the illuminated Palace Square, where a concert was being held with just the graduates and their parents singing and dancing to the tunes.

However, this was just a prelude to the grand event. While we enjoyed the concert, despite not understanding a word of the songs, about ten graduates asked us for a selfie.

One of them, who was quite fluent in English, told us that the main event would take place on the other side of the huge palace, on the bank of the Neva River.

As we headed towards our ultimate destination, it looked like a moving panorama with sons and daughters sitting on the shoulders of their fathers; some boys were seen in their military attire, a couple put their tiny tot in a cot while a few seniors sat on wheelchairs alongside the travelling World Cup fans.

As we sat on a bench just beside a bridge on the Neva River, which was closed for the night, to rest our overworked legs, a young Russian who introduced himself as George said that he has attended each edition of this event for the last five years. However, he added that he was never a part of the celebrations themselves as a student since he graduated from a school in Nizhny Novgorod.

He also informed us that the flames on the two towers on the river will be doused to signal the start of the festivities. The wait was over at 12.40am as fireworks illuminated the night sky, coupled with a popular patriotic song which was blaring from a nearby sound system.

The pyrotechnics continued for 25 minutes uninterrupted and to be honest, it was unlike any other traditional fireworks show. It was like the sky was being painted by lights and when accompanied by song, it was like a touching musical soiree.

Amidst the fireworks, the Scarlet Sails (a boat with red sails) cruised through the Neva River, symbolising a student's freedom from the hardship and rules of school. It was a night to behold and an occasion to savour for any travelling fan.

The only scary moment was when the carbon fiber roof on a facility van, parked by the river, collapsed with a crowd of over-enthusiastic fans on top of it.

Thankfully, everyone involved escaped without injury. A long albeit smooth trip back to the hotel ensued and by the time we reached our temporary abode it was 4:00am. We were barely able to walk at that time due to the stiffness of our sore feet but the feeling was well worth it as it was a night that will last in our memories forever.