When we toured Scandinavia in the spring of 2006, we spent three weeks in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. This was a self guided tour. We rented a car and followed the itinerary we had spent months researching. We were going to be finding some of our ancestral homelands, for both of us, both in Norway and Sweden.
In Sweden, using his skill in genealogy research, Tom located some cousins of mine in the ancestral village of Skamhed. We met my 4th cousin Yvonne and her son Fredrik, who showed us around the village, including the location of the farm of Nils Person and Stina Olsdatter, parents of Kristina, who is the mother of my paternal grandfather Olaf Norquist. Olaf and his parents immigrated to the US when he was an infant. We also met my cousins on Olaf's father's side. It was a wonderful day of connection.
As we were driving through this northwest region of Sweden we saw what appeared to be May Poles in every village. I asked Yvonne about them. She explained that they were Solstice Poles, for Midsummer, which was widely celebrated in Sweden. Since we were there in early June, she sent us photographs of the actual celebration as it occurred later that month.
This is Yvonne, ready for the day.
On the day of celebration, usually the Saturday closest to the Solstice, the villagers, wearing their national and local costumes, carry the garlands in procession to the pole.
That's Fredrik, third in line.
The pole stays up all year. I wondered how they decorated it, but the pole is lashed to "flag stones" and can be lowered to remove the old garlands, and then raised with the new. As you see it takes a village.
Then of course there is celebrating long into the night in the land of the almost midnight sun.
It all makes me want to be there.
I hope you are all enjoying your first day of summer. Happy Solstice!
Happy Solstice!
ReplyDeleteHappy Solstice! What a wonderful tradition. It would be fun to be there to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteI like to see cultures practice their traditional celebrations. They have very colorful clothing.
ReplyDeleteHow nice that even though you were too early for the celebration, your new found cousins sent you pictures of the event. Nice also that they are able to keep it up all year and are able to replace the garlands.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice memory, and yes we did have a quiet Solstice here in Bellingham. Flowers are abundant everywhere.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful tradition!
ReplyDeleteThat is beautiful. Obviously we see your direct connection to the love of flowers and family traditions!
ReplyDeleteThe Swedes have the right idea. So much to celebrate. I love the costumes. Gigi Hawaii
ReplyDeleteWow. That must have been a wonderful trip for you and Tom finding distant relatives and visiting their villages. Memories!!
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