Midsommarafton

It is Midsummer today. Nearly everyone has left Stockholm to celebrate in their summer house or at a friend's place, or maybe somewhere out in the archipelago. But not everyone. I decided to go for a bike ride in the nearly empty capitol. Nice with almost car free streets. And the weather is amazing. 27C from a clear blue sky. I did see and photograph a lot of tourists, of course, on my ride around the city. And then I heard some music from the ship Sentosa at Norr Mälarstrand at Kungsholmen, just a few hundred meters from City Hall. So I stuck around for a couple of songs. Quite the small crowd aboard the ship, maybe five people, that the three musicians that call themselves Trubadurerna were playing for. Not counting the ten or so people sitting on benches nearby, and then me, of course. The band consists of Håkan Bäfve, Josef Ekrelius and Sonny Forsberg. I googled the ship, and it looks like the owner Vidar who I believe lives on the boat is one of the people enjoying the music.

A Saab Midsummer

Midsummer is a genuine Swedish tradition so I decided to photograph a few Swedish cars during the celebrations at Sorunda. Top photo shows a 1958 Saab. Second we see a Saab 96 from 1975. Third photo shows a Saab 99 also from 1975. Sadly out of business since 2012. But soon we might see some news about NEVS.

Arriving in style

The Midsummer celebrations at Sorunda always feature a few classic cars. Top photo shows a 1955 Lincoln Capri. That was my favorite of the day. Second photo shows a Chevrolet Bel Air Sport from 1957. Third snap is of a 1941 Mercury Eight.

Midsummer

It was a very quiet affair this year. Just me and my brother. It rained off and on during the day. We ate a traditional Midsummer dinner and this was on the table. Didn't feel like celebrating with our mother on palliative care at Malmgården.

Midsummer dancing

The traditional Midsummer dancing was a bit different here in Jordbro. It was the same dance, but as it was the first ever Midsummer dance for many of the visitors, it took some explanation, but in the end everything worked out just fine. On the top photo the Maypole have just been erected and Margareta Runqvist is checking to see if she can get the dance under way. Second photo shows the dance Små grodorna. The dancing lasted for thirty minutes. I will show you some more Midsummer snaps tomorrow.

Midsommarafton

Midsommarafton today. The most important holiday in the Swedish calendar. No other day can compete. The National Day is nothing compared to Midsummer. For the third year running I visited the celebrations in the park in Jordbro. As I arrived kids of all ages were busy decorating the Maypole, or Midsommarstång as we like to call it. More facts and photos over the weekend.

Standing Around

Lots of dancing around the Midsummer pole at the weekend festivities in Jordbro, but I did also notice a bit of standing around, being photographed, or trying to look as bored as possible, and the winners in that category can be seen on the first photo. I think it means that the scout movement have a new motto. Prepared, but bored.

Midsummer Fun

A scene from the Midsummer celebrations at the Höglunda Park. If you want to see more photos check out the slideshow in yesterdays post.

Midsummer Festivities

Midsummer is the most important weekend/holiday in Sweden. The National Day is nothing compared to Midsummer. The celebration dates back thousands of years and is filled with tradition that of course have changed a bit over the years. Here are sixty or so photos from the festivities that took place at the Höglunda park in Jordbro on Friday. Around 1500 people gathered for a few hours of fun. The first order of business was to dress the Maypole, or the Midsomarstång as we like to call it. That took about one hour. You need a lot of fresh flowers and green tree branches to create the wreaths for the Maypole. Then it was time for the raising of the pole. With the help of young and old that only took two minutes. And then it was time for all the traditional dancing. The round dance took about one hour and was a big hit with both kids and adults. After that a lot of people gathered around the stage and listened to the Jordbro World Orchestra and a few other acts. There was games for the kids and food and candy for the hungry. The Mayor Martina Mossberg and a few other politicians were busy handing out free strawberries. I met many familiar faces and one or two new ones as well.

Lars Epstein

We celebrate Midsummer today. I spent a few hours at the Höglunda park in Jordbro talking to people, and taking photos of the festivities, and I will show you that tomorrow. The man you see here is a well known photographer and journalist. Lars Epstein. He has worked for DN (the largest morning paper in Sweden), for something like 35 years. We ran into each other several times at the park, and I told him a little about the different bands, and hooked him up with both the Mayor, Martina Mossberg, and a few people from the Jordbro World Orchestra who arranged the celebrations at the park. Lars told me a bit about how he works. He has a blog on the paper called Epstein's STHLM which he updates most every day. He has been in the business for so many years that no one tells him what to do, he usually plans everything him self and will often do the writing from home rather than at the paper. Before we said goodbye I invited him to the rock festival in Tungelsta which takes place in August.

Jumping For Joy

After the traditional dancing around the Midsummer Pole at the park in Jordbro yesterday, I decided to go around and shoot some candid portraits. These are the ones that I liked the most. Two young girls from different backgrounds having some fun. One jumping for joy while the other one takes her photo. A little later they go through the photos. You can of course see all the photos in the slideshow that I posted yesterday.

Midsummer Dancing

Midsummer is the most important weekend in Sweden. I visited the Midsummer celebrations that took place in the park in Jordbro earlier today. A few hundred people had gathered to dancing around the Midsummer Pole and listen to live music. There was also a lot of fun for all the kids. Here is a slide show with a few photos. I will add more photos later and you will be able to all of them in the slideshow.

Top Secret Recipe

This is Ann Wahlfors and Lena Kristiansson. And possibly Ann's daughter, I forgot to ask. All three girls took part in the traditional dancing during the Midsummer celebrations at Prästgårdsparken on Friday. Lena is the chairperson of the Sorunda Handicraft group and she told me a little about the old Sorunda Dress. Ann, also known as Sorundann is a weaver, but more importantly she is a baker, and she is one of the few people in the world that bakes the famous Sorunda Cake, three of which you can see here. The recipe is a well kept secret. Every farm has their own design of the cake. The recipes are handed down and kept by only a few family members, but I do know one thing and that is that there's lots of butter in the cake!

The Midsummer Dancers

As promised here are a few photos from the Midsummer dancing at Prästgårdsparken. The first dance must have surprised everyone. The dancers, all wearing the very old Sorunda regional dress suddenly started moving to the sound of Cotton Eye Joe! But after that the more traditional songs took over. The people you see here are all members of the Sorunda Hembygdsförening.

Erecting the Midsummer Pole

A few photos of the ceremonial erecting of the Sorunda Midsummer Pole at Prästgårdsparken on Friday.
On the first photo you can see Lena Kristiansson and Maria Landin dressed in the Sorunda regional dress explaining for the local fire fighters how they are going to raise the Maypole without too many accidents.

After lifting up the uniquely decorated midsummer pole the fire fighters made a slow 360 turn on the lawn and nearly hit a woman who was on crutches and a bit slow to move away!

Then, with some more help from Maria the pole was positioned in a hole in the ground and slowly erected.

Finally pointed wooden splinters were used to secure the pole and when the job was done the fire-fighters got a round of applauds from the massive crowd. Tomorrow I will show some dance photos.

The Sorunda Regional Dress

Obviously I had to shoot a few portraits while attending the Sorunda Midsummer celebrations. And what better way than to show you two members of the homestead society dressed in the regional dress, the Sorundadräkten. Top photo shows Lasse. Amateur photographer since 1952. You can see some of his photos at Fotosidan. He shoots with a Pentax and has a number of new and old lenses to choose from. His granddaughter who is thirteen has also taken up the hobby. After this portrait in front of the Midsummer Pole (that was still on the ground), we walked over to the homestead society building to take photos of the famous Sorunda cakes (I will show you those in a day or two. Lasse is one of the dancers that performed here later in the day. They shocked everyone with their opening song. We all expected a traditional Swedish tune, but they gave us a dance number with Cotton Eye Joe!

Second photo shows Maria Landin. She is the chairperson of the homestead society. She's also an archaeologist from Stora Vika (a village with many Stone Age finds), and works as a antiquarian for the Nynäshamn municipality. I have met her before, and if you would like to know more about Maria press here. The regional dress is well documented and goes back many centuries. The one Maria is wearing is a mix of styles from various villages around Sorunda and the dress has changed a bit over the years. More Midsummer photos to come.

The Sorunda Midsummer Pole

It's Midsummer. The most important tradition in Sweden. All over the country people have been dancing around the Maypoles. And now in the early evening everyone is eating and drinking and the sun is still shining. I took a 20 km bike ride in the warm weather down to Sorunda in Nynäshamn, to have a look at the celebrations at the Prästgårdsparken. Over the next few days I will show some photos from my Sorunda visit starting with a few close-ups of the Midsummer Pole before it was raised .The Sorunda Midsummer Pole is very different from a traditional Swedish Midsummer Pole. It is decorated with a few different symbols, including hollow eggs for good future fertility! And also with Lily-of-the-valley leafs that are picked ten days before Midsummer. Some more info about this tradition can be found at Sweden.se

Traditional Midsummer Celebrations

Midsummer is the most Swedish tradition there is. Celebrated in some way by pretty much everyone in the country. Usually there is a Maypole which is raised and decorated with flowers and wreaths as seen here behind the church in Tungelsta where two very young and talented musicians stood for the traditional music. This is followed by dancing with dancers dressed in local folk costumes. The couple you see here are from the dance group Haningarna. They are dressed in the Haninge costume. The group has been dancing all around the world for many years. The man here is Kjell Heimdahl from Tungelsta I know that because I have known one of his sons all my life. The music for these dances is normally performed with accordion and guitar. After this dance follows a few funny dances for the kids of all ages. Like the Frog Dance. On the bottom photo you see a dance called the Halling dance. The guy to the left is playing a drunk and is not welcome to dance so he picks a fight. People always seems to enjoy this number, probably because it reminds them of previous Midsummers. This scene is repeated in many places around Haninge today. For the teenagers Midsummer is a different story. I remember a few rainy and very drunk summer nights where we went on camping trips to one of the islands in the Stockholm arcipelago but that is another story. Happy Midsummer everyone!

Picking a fight...

Two members of the dance group Haningarna performing what I think might be the Halling dance. The guy to the left is drunk and not welcome to dance, and he picks a fight. People really seemed to enjoy this number, probably because it reminds them of previous Midsummers...

Drunken disorder plagues Midsummer

I borrowed the headline from an article in The Local. So if you want to know how a traditional Swedish Midsummer is celebrated you should read this article. Today's photo is from the midsummer dance in Tungelsta yesterday where everything was a bit calmer...