Week 18--Joy to the World--Midsommar in Sweden!

Hej, hej från sverige!

(I’ll bet you could read that—or at least almost of it—“Hi from Sweden.”)  The lack of a capital “S” is correct, by the way.  There are some rules here that are really difficult for an old English teacher to accept!)  I started this as an email letter and decided to resurrect my blog so I could post a few more pictures.  I hope everyone is still able to read it.

Monday was our long drive home from Malmö…about 7 hours, without any sightseeing stops.  We just wanted to get home!   We left around 2 after helping with a volleyball tournament for 28 missionaries in the Malmö zone.  Some missionaries had traveled 3 hours by train to get there.  Beach volley-- enjoyed to its fullest and with ultimate sportsmanship. Again, we were so impressed with these young people who work so hard, love the people and are committed to serving the Lord.  During our lunch break two guys came by and started playing right on the court we had reserved.  There were 4 other empty courts.  I would have asked them to leave, but several of the more loving and wiser missionaries played with them for a while, then they moved to another court so we could resume our tourney.  These young missionaries exude joy, which has become a theme for my week, but first I’ll share a few details from last week’s trip that I glossed over.

Sigtuna, as I mentioned in the last letter is about 45 minutes from our apartment.  Known as an old Viking village, it offers a ruined church built in 1100 AD, rune stones displayed all over town, a quaint old village full of shops and restaurants (one, where we had lunch), and a park situated on the shore of a bay. 

 St. Olof's, remains of a Dominican monastery, built in the early 12th century.

 Restaurant where we ate—“Tante Brun”—Aunt Brown—borrowed from the French, because “aunt” in Swedish is either moster (mother’s sister) or  faster (father’s sister). John could barely stand up inside, the ceiling was so low, but the food was delicious!

The girls are the local sister missionaries who went with us.  Incidentally, the blonde, Syster Gill, is a granddaughter of a good friend (and mentor—an English teacher) from our early married days in Colorado.  Small world in the church!

 Mmmm--apple pie with vanilla sauce.  Swedes are crazy about the sauce--I could be crazy about it, too!  The crust is definitely different...more like cake.

I thought I was eating light, until I saw the roll and the cheese!  Note the amount of cheese vs. meat--very Swedish, and yeah, it's brie, Kim.

We finished out office "training" this week and went solo on Thursday!  So far, so good, but nothing critical is happening.  I still feel overwhelmed but as I become more familiar with where to find things, I'm feeling better.  It's a busy job, but I like it...when I don't make too many mistakes and have to reprint things--ugh.  (Obviously, I've done that!)

Friday was MIDSOMMAR (Midsummer)!  I'm convinced that every Swede looks forward to this holiday.  Everything was shut down for 2 days--including the malls!  Can you believe it?  (One missionary commented:  That's the difference between socialism and capitalism!)  The celebration was legally moved from the official June 21st to the Friday of the week, so everyone can enjoy the celebration (and for those who need to, recover the next day.)   We were invited to join two other couples and was hosted by a Swedish family, the Lindquists, who were heavily involved in the celebration.  In fact, the stake (our larger church unit) was in charge of the event for the community.  (They said that usually about 3,000 people attend).  After a long, cold, hard winter, and slow-to-arrive spring, Swedes seem to blossom with the summer. We drove to the National Park--Tyresta--near to the Lindquists' home.  The park has an old farm, where many building are used as shops or a cafe.  There were public grills for cooking food, too. Further down the road, there are animals, including horses that can be ridden.  In a huge mowed meadow we joined a happy crowd, several in traditional clothing and most women and girls with flower-braided crowns.  Families and groups placed blankets and coolers to mark their spots, as races, tug-o-wars, singing and dancing were carried out. Oh, and perhaps most importantly, the maypole was decorated.  (I asked why it was called a maypole when it was in June.  I was told it was too early in May to celebrate, but the idea had been taken years ago to dance around the "maypole"s -- it had just kept that name.)  

Shortly after we arrived, and the 5 K run had begun, we walked to the square where the CVP maypole was positioned on saw horses, to help decorate it.  Several large birch tree branches,  freshly sawn in the forest, were dragged into the square, and we were instructed to pull the supple limbs off of it.  Soon a crowd had gathered to help, and the spicy birch scent filled the air, as limb bouquets were strewn on the ground near the pole,  for the decorator's easy access.  With floral wire, the limbs soon covered the pole and the two wreaths that hang from it.  Captured in the frenzy and fun, I even wrapped a few limbs into a crown for myself.   John said that I looked like a Roman!   Sans, flowers, I guess it was more like a laurel wreath, but I heard that the single girls wore flowers, not the married women. Next came a pick-up truckload of flowers.  Brother Lindquist said that the traditional way was to pick the wild flowers, but that would take all day; hence, modernism won out.  Blossoms were tucked all over the greenery enlivening the maypole to its summer delight.  

 Decorating the maypole.  The woman in black is in a native Norwegian dress.  Notice the bare limbs behind us.  We stripped those branches down to nothing!

After the pole was finished, we started our delicious lunch--at about 2:15.  Just a comment about a couple foods.  Sis. Lindquist made a little hors d'ouevres with soft flat bread (very thin, not like in the US), rolled with butter (a "special" butter she said--I have to learn more about this--I thought all Swedish butter tasted pretty special!), cloudberry jam (exotic berries that only grow in the Norrland, ripen in the fall and look like yellow raspberries) and the very sharp Norrland cheese (Västerbotten--I wrote about a couple months ago--the king of Swedish cheeses).  Yum!  Also she said that strawberries, piled high,  and whipped cream were a "must" for midsummar's dessert. (Served side by side, not on top of the berries.)

At 2:30 all the young missionary elders (about 20 of them) carried in the decorated maypole to music and a cheering crowd.  This is so uncharacteristic of Swedes, who tend to be quiet and low-key.  Everyone's hearts are in this moment of life, hope, happiness.  

Then Sis. Lindquist, in her Dalarna folk dress, led the crowd, who had circled around the pole, in several folk dances, accompanied by a fiddle, bass, and accordion. I haven't had so much fun in years. Everyone was dancing--holding hands and skipping back and forth, to and fro, hopping and singing to silly songs about cleaning house and little frogs that have no tails.  Laughter and joy filled the air.  Two days later and I still feel a little giddy with the happiness, the sunshine, the flowers,  the laughter and the love of that day.

Here is the finished maypole with Sis. Lindquist getting ready to lead the crowd in the dances.

Sis. Lindquist (dressed in the red and black).   The picture doesn't do the costume justice.  The cap is linen (only a married woman would wear it).  There's a lace scarf pinned around her neck, over a white linen blouse.  The bodice of the dress is beautiful hand stitched flowers, the skirt is black wool and the apron is red, white and black striped wool.  The belt is red and white stripes and the shoes even have red pompoms.  Incidentally, she is the Stake Relief Society President and the sister in blue is one of her counselors.  The blue dress is a Swedish national dress-- blue and yellow--the national colors.  It is more modern, cotton and still lovely.  

The weather held back its predicted rain, but it came steadily during the night and most of Saturday.  Finally when it cleared up, I suggested to John that he go drive a few practice golf balls with his second-hand clubs he purchased a couple of weeks ago.  Hesitantly, he went, unsure how to handle this new experience, and his inexperience manifested itself as he put his card into the automated paybox and 50 golfballs came dropping out!  Grabbing a basket, he scrambled to pick them up as they rolled every which way.  Fortunately, his sunburnt face hid his emotion!  

So, another week ends.  For me "joy" is the prevailing thought of the week.  And with that thought a favorite scripture comes to mind...2 Nephi 2:25, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."  This reminds us that we are supposed to be happy in life.  When our days seem dark, when we have despairing thoughts, when we feel of little value, or when we feel anxious and worried, we are working against our divine natures, and we are turned away from Heavenly Father.  God and His Son, Jesus Christ  and the Holy Ghost want us to be happy...not just in this life, but forever.   Their efforts are always in our behalf, to help us find joy.  These are a few things that help me know this:   1) We are God's children and He knows each of us and loves us.  2)  Jesus Christ's atonement blesses our lives.  Through him we can experience forgiveness through repentance, we can have burdens lifted, we can receive help to make us equal to our tasks, we can know peace despite our circumstances.  3)  The Holy Ghost testifies of truth, guides us, and comforts us.  I had a dear friend who died of cancer several years ago.  One day she reminded me that "Life is Good," and I wondered how she could say that with such commitment as cancer ravaged her body.  It was because she knew those truths I have just written, she knew life continued on, and she knew how to experience joy despite her circumstances.  

May each of us have eyes to see these opportunities and hearts to embrace them so we can experience lasting happiness and joy.  

Best wishes to each of you!