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One of the things that Tony and I really miss about being away from Champaign, Illinois is the chance to take part in so many fun Swedish events like Jul and Midsommar. So, we decided to start our own tradition here in Georgia. Saturday, June 21, 2003 marked the date of our first annual Swedish Midsommar celebration in Georgia. My mom was kind enough to host it at her house. It was a small affair, but a good start and lots of fun. My neice Ashlin and five nephews, Dylan, Ryan, Jordan, Shane and Conner Cross all were a great help and enjoyed participating in the games. We also had some of mom and dad's neighbors drop by and some of our friends, including our token "Swede," Andy Carlson.
First on the agenda was, of course, to decorate and raise the majstång. Everybody pitched in to help. The blue flowers that Chollie and Lisa brought were a nice touch for the hanging wreaths. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough flowers to make garlands for the girls...maybe next year.
After decorating the pole, we "danced" around it with great style. We started with små grodarna, then spun to vi äro musikanter and ran out of breath with karusellen. The Cross kids had practiced the words to the songs before the party started and along with Tony were able to help keep the songs going. Then, to top things off, the kids played björnen sover. By then we'd worked up a great appetite and it was time for the food!
Our smörgåsbord started with a table of breads, crackers, cheeses, eggs with caviar, carrots, cucumber salad, ham, spreads and pickled herring.
Our second table was crowned by Lisa and Chollie's smoked salmon and mom's meatballs. We also had yummy Swedish potatoes. Then, the final table had strawberries, cakes, cookies and candy.
Later, we decided to work off the good meal with some games. We played some traditional relay races,like ballongkram (balloon hug), knip-stafett (where one races with potato between one's knees), Irländsk julafton (Irish Christmas eve), and of course potatisloup (racing with potato on a spoon). By then it was time for the kids to go home and we called it a day.
We made some new friends and had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came and who helped make this a success! We hope to have even a greater time in 2004!
