National Day Weekend

Last friday was Sweden's National Day and unlike in Singapore, the Swedes don't generally celebrate it with a bang. Mathias believes it's got something to do with the fact that they've been unoccupied for the last few hundreds of years. It's like celebrating birthdays, kids get really excited when it comes to their own but as they get older, the enthusiasm wanes a little. Not me of cos but this isn't really about me, is it?

So every National Day Askersund has a tradition(It's Sweden, what do you expect?) in which they have a march that starts from the town square. Anyone can join in the march so it's size varies from year to year and it's led by a musical quartet and flag bearers and they march through town right past our window so I could watch the march go by from above if I wanted to. The march ends at the top of a hill in Askersund where the one can find the school museum, many small enclosures where they have farm animals (goats, sheep, chickens, ducks and rabbits) and very very old traditional village cottages where a stage has also been erected for the National Day celebrations to continue with the arrival of the march.

But what was also special on this particular National Day is that Mathias' grandma was receiving an award for Cultural Woman of the Year. She's a pretty special woman, warm, welcoming, kind and friendly. Both she and Grandpa Sjöberg are both wonderful people and I really enjoy spending time with them. Among all the family in husband's clan other than husband dearest, I spend most time with them.
It was a pretty moving moment for both of them on that day. Anyone can tell just how proud Grandpa Sjöberg is of his wife. She was trying to hide damp eyes behind sunglasses and he by pretending that his nose is running so he has to constantly wipe his nose and face. So sweet.

I must say that the Sjöberg clan is a pretty reputable family. Most family in this town know or know of Grandpa and Grandma Sjöberg and Mathias' dad, Torbjörn Sjöberg. They are all known to be trustworthy, good people whom one can turn to for help if needed. And now that young master Sjöberg (Mathias lah) works in town for the town electronics store, he continues and strengthens the good family name plus more people now know him or at least what he looks like. So it's quite nice knowing that I married into a good family.

So back to the National Day celebrations. The sound system is not great, the choir is quite out of tune (though it was better this year) and the violins were out of sync, out of pitch and petty amateurish but one shouldn't be so critical of a ten year old, right? And after the prize giving, the violin plying and choir singing, one has to dance!
So out came a group of traditionally dressed dancers who had been part of the march earlier to dance 4 traditional Swedish dances for us. It was quite fun watching them all spiffed up and turning and twirling to the musical quartet. The difference between this National Day celebration compared to the ones I've been used to growing up in Singapore is the amateur, semi disorganised yet cosy feeling one feels watching it. Nobody cares that the singers don't sing in tune, or that the music is too soft or the violins are out of tune. Everyone is there for community's sake and that feels nice.

Big city girl getting a taste of small town living.
The reputable Sjöberg men enjoying a warm summer's day.