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.

The Mayor and the Musician

The Mayor of Haninge, Martina Mossberg had a busy day during the Midsummer party in the park. She promised me that she would partake in the traditional dancing around the Maypole, and I said that a photo of her doing the Small Frogs dance would be a good one! Perhaps that scared her because when the dance started she was busy giving away strawberries, and yes they were very tasty. On the second photo Martina is talking to fellow politician Raymond Svensson, and treating Mikael Vinsa (who is one of the people in the Jordbro World Orchestra project), to a free strawberry. And on the third photo you can see Mikael in action during the Midsummer dancing where he was one of two musicians playing all the traditional songs.

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.