What a wonderful suprise...

The weather is still glorious.. I'm a little tanned after another trip to the beach! Went to a housewarming on Saturday night for a girl who I met in Brisbane - Marie, a friend of Håkan's who was also a ric's girl! so that was kinda nice... would have been nicer still if i knew how to hold my licqour. Nothings changed there I guess... except my hangovers are ridiculous!

Had another holiday last week for Sweden's national day - see below :D
I am starting to love the amount of holidays the swede's have... Next up is midsommar - so you can guarantee a post on that one!! We are fortunate enough to be attending a traditional midsommar's ceremony - although we'll see how well I cope with the smell of pickled herring!

I was to have finished school tomorrow... but by the looks we will do the next part, or at least start - either another 2 or 4 weeks, which will be good - cause lord knows i could do with it!

Laura is comming tomorrow for a week - so the weather will sure to turn to crap! But fun we shall have anyway.... off to jazz in the park on wednesday night and a few other things!

Dont you love when you find photos that you cant remember taking!


Now for my third installment of my encounter column....

A SPLENDID COMMING OF AGE....

National day ceremonies generally allow us as travellers the opportunity to experience a small snapshot of a foreign country’s traditions, culture and history. June 6th saw the celebration of Sweden’s 3rd annual national day holiday, formally the national Flag Day. My expectations of the celebrations were lots of blonde haired children running around holding flags, women dressed in traditional white bonnets with long flowing yellow and blue embroidered dresses, picnics baskets overflowing with pickled herring and potatoes and glasses of schnapps to toast the meal.

You can imagine my surprise when I arrived at the botanical gardens in Lund to see hundreds of Swedes looking slightly bemused, very few children and only one lady in traditional dress. The food of the day was being purchased from the burger stand and washed down with a Carlsberg.

The average Swede seems very connected with their traditions and appears especially proud of their folk laws, and as anyone who has celebrated a Swedish midsommar can attest, they certainly know how to celebrate. Yet despite these facts, I couldn’t help wondering why in a crowd of hundreds there appeared to be only one woman who felt connected enough with the national day to proudly show it. I was drawn to the grey haired woman who looked to have aged gracefully for someone who most likely was at the end of her sixties.

She looked so perfect and tiny in her blue and yellow dress which signifies the strong history of her nation, and the fact that everyone else seemed a little confused by this holiday didn’t appear to perturb her at all. She walked around the gardens chatting with her husband, whom while also handsome, simply paled in her comparison. Together they continued, as she held his hand subtly leading the way, only pausing to glance at the brilliant coloured poppies and bougainvillea. They both appeared oblivious to the glances she drew from everyone they passed.

Her proud and almost regal walk seemed to manifest the very tradition we were here to celebrate. There are many possible reasons as to why this lady seemed to be the only one to revel in the festivities. Perhaps it could be that without the past rituals, legends and folk beliefs of yesteryear, that a modern and urbanised society is not capable of forging strong attachments to new traditions.

Yet there was a tell tale sign in her sparkling blue eyes that suggested that she was smirking on the inside at the hordes who were willing for a connection to this holiday. For her eyes seemed to indicate that perhaps it was not the national day she is emotionally akin to, but that she was the only one who viewed this holiday as a birthday party for a friend she respects and admires. A splendid coming of age for a trusted confidant who has throughout the years continued to provide her family with a home, a prosperous lifestyle and a culture rich in history and tradition. What I think drew us all to this woman was that she did not require new traditions to joyously celebrate the most important birthday in the Swedish calendar.