SWEDISH MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL SCANDINAVIANS AND AMERICANS JOIN TOGETHER IN CELEBRATION OF YEAR'S LONGEST DAY.Byline: JOHAN MENGESHA Valley News Writer An Agoura Hills park bearing the same name as one of the most well-known kings in Swedish history was the location for the 86th annual Swedish Midsummer Festival in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, on June 25. Hundreds of people gathered in Vasa Park to celebrate midsummer with singing, dancing and traditional Swedish cuisine. In Sweden, midsummer's eve is observed annually on June 24 to tie in with the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. The festival was sponsored by the Swedish American Swedish Americans are U.S. Americans with Swedish heritage, most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Most likely, about 8 million Americans have Swedish roots, of whom 4. Central Association of Southern California, an organization promoting interest in Scandinavian activities and events. The festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. started at noon with the raising of the maypole, a tall wooden cross with two rings on each side of the horizontal beam. The pole and the rings were covered with green leaves and bright-colored wildflowers. After it had been secured in the ground, the ring dancing began. A man in traditional Swedish folk clothing led the singing, accompanied by musicians playing vio- lins, guitar, bass and accordion. The people lined up in two circles around the maypole and mimicked what they were singing about in their dance. Jacqueline E. Ahlen, president of SACA SACA South Australian Cricket Association SACA South and Central America (Travel) Association SACA Sexual Assault Crisis Agency SACA Support Agency Cooperative Agreement SACA Silverton Area Community Aid (Oregon) , said her organization has held the midsummer festival in Vasa Park for the past 45 years. She expected around 700 to 800 people to show up throughout the day. ``It is one of the biggest (midsummer festivals) in Southern California,'' Ahlen said. The crowd included many people of Scandinavian descent, and different dialects of Swedish could be heard among the festival-goers on picnic blankets spread out on the grass around the park. Rut rut the period of increased sexual activity occurring in the autumn (fall) in some male mammals, especially deer and elephants. It is accompanied by increased testicular activity, especially spermatogenesis, and in deer by shedding of the antlers and a marked increase in vocalizing Eneberg, 66, and her husband, Tommy, 65, both moved from Sweden to Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. in the early 1960s and had their first date at the midsummer festival in Vasa Park. They now live in La Crescenta and have only missed the festival twice since then. ``This is an opportunity for all the Swedes in the entire Los Angeles area to get together because it is such a big (park) so everybody will fit here,'' Rut Eneberg said. Swedish summers are known for having midnight twilights when the sky never gets completely dark, something Rut Eneberg said is one of her favorite parts of midsummer. When the coolers around the park were un- packed during lunch, Swedish food soon filled picnic tables. Plates with different types of pickled herring Noun 1. pickled herring - herring preserved in a pickling liquid (usually brine or vinegar) herring - valuable flesh of fatty fish from shallow waters of northern Atlantic or Pacific; usually salted or pickled and potatoes, a must-have for any midsummer feast, were enjoyed in the shade of the big oak trees. Jerry Greenlees, 55, of Hacienda Heights said his grandparents grandparents npl → abuelos mpl grandparents grand npl → grands-parents mpl grandparents grand npl were originally from Sweden and he really likes the Swedish midsummer festivities. ``I love it,'' Greenlees said, wearing a Swedish folk costume. ``It's fascinating.'' Greenlees, who has been coming to the midsummer festival in Agoura Hills for 10 years, said his favorite part of midsummer is the dancing. The Swedish Midsummer Festival is something people of all ages can enjoy. ``It's a nice, family-type get-together,'' said 66-year-old Swede swede: see turnip. Laila Weitz, who has been living in the U.S. since 1959. ``My whole family loves to come here at midsummer, and they are more like Americans.'' For those unfamiliar with Swedish midsummer traditions, there were plenty of Swedes willing to answer any questions they had. ``I think it's great that Americans always are so interested in traditions they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. anything about,'' Rut Eneberg said. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color) Swedes and Americans join together and dance around the maypole in Vasa Park as part of the June 25 Midsummer festival. (2 -- color) A parade of musicians and dancers in Swedish folk outfits make their way into the park. Thomas Jahn/Special to the Valley News |
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