Hi everybody!

We (me and Louise) haven´t posted a lot lately but we have been on vacation and our computer were shut down for weeks because of the lightening (turned out to be an expensive story) but now we are back!! Read all your posts about David, Trey and the rest and are happy everything seems to be going the right way for them all.
Want to tell you about our Swedish midsummercelebration going on right now. As you know Sweden is far up north which means the winter is very dark and the summer is very bright/light. So in the end of June the night is very short ( ever heard of the midnight sun?) meaning 24 hours of daylight. So we greet the summer and the midnight sun by dancing around big poles with flowers and leafs, dancing and enjoying ourselves all night long. Are we nuts? Probably we are but this is for many of us the best part of the year going on right now.

Take care and please stay around! You are all very important to us!

Love,  Annica and Louise ;) :-* :)

Annica and Louise,

This sounds like a great tradiition -- wish I were there with you.

Janice

Annica and Louise -

Sounds like fun!!

-Shari

I thimk everybody should be a little nuts. Sounds like alot of fun to me! Wish we had one of those ;;D

I'm nuts!! Can I dance around a pole at midnight too?

You know, that just doesn't sound right when I put it like that. [smiley=ohjez.gif]

OOOPS! Hit the wrong key.  I am just going to stop where I am at.  I am very tired today.  Up since 3:00 and all the driving.  Yep, chalk it up to sleep deprivation.

It sounds like a fun tradition to me, wish we did something like that here also.
                                    Nancy

Hey Nanc,

You wish we had a tradition like that here too? Why do you say that? I always thought we did, cuz of the many times I saw you jigging around poles after midnight with leaves. C'mon admit it girl...you were "gettin jiggy wit it" all your life, and you didn't need a reason like midsummer...lol[smiley=crackup.gif]

Seriously though, sounds like a lovely tradition and a great time of the year.


Mar
[smiley=moonwiggle.gif]

Annica and Louise----this does sound like a lovely and fun tradition......when we were is Alaska in August several years ago, it never got completely dark....and one of the tours, we learned that they had a monsoon type period during the winter where they couldn't even leave their homes AT ALL for at least 3 weeks.......I bet that they dance around the totem poles in July and August to celebrate the midnight sun.......my doctor was just in Sweden on June 12th for a few days for some medical thing.....I doubt that he danced around any poles, though.......I'll have to ask him.....I just don't thinnk he has it in him......but, maybe I am wrong......Thank you for sharing this beautiful tradition...looking forward to hearing from you again, soon.....Pat [smiley=wave.gif]

Mar,
            HAHA smart a... you forgot you taught me how. That memory of yours is going. Just kiddin. Talk to ya soon.
                     Nancy

Nancy,

From my meeting with Mar, I can really imagine her taking you out and teaching you how to do that.  
I think the three of us could wind up in BIG trouble. [smiley=me&mb.gif] [smiley=moonwiggle.gif]
HE HE HE!!

Tammy,

Hey you!! [smiley=tongue2.gif]...lol..

You're probably right thought...[smiley=me&mb.gif]

[smiley=moon.gif]

Tammy,
          I'm sure we could.

Hi again everybody!

Glad you´re interested in our "stupid" tradition.
It´s just something I grew up with but when I saw it in writing (and even worse-in English!) I realize you must think that the Swedes are all lunatics!!
But it is a very beautiful time of the year and this is a beautiful country so I will use that as an excuse for our behaviour!
Sooo, tell me about some other funny or strange tradition that you have around the world. I´m sure there are others out there to be admitted!!!! Come on, share them with me!

Take care and ttyl

Annica

Hi Annica---at the moment, I can only think of the "7th inning stretch" at the professional basesball games....everyone stands up and sings "Take me out to the ball game..take me out to the crowds...buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks..I don't care if I ever get back..and it's root, root, root for the home team...if they don't win, it's a shame...and it's 1---2---3 strikes they're out at the old ball game....." Personally, my favorite baseball team  is the Yankees....I had tickets to the Yankees game the day of my 2nd surgery and had to give them away...... I guess that song is a real tradition....... a second tradition is that whenever there is a parade and the American Flag passes by, it is tradition to stand up when the flag passes......you can see my own personal tradition under the RAIN thread......if I can think of any more, I will let you know....Be well...Pat [smiley=moonwiggle.gif] [smiley=girlflash.gif] [smiley=girlflash.gif]

Well Annica, I can only say your tradition isn't as bad as the fact that Americans make every holiday into a Retail event.
eg:

Valentines: Buy candy and gifts for the one you love.
St. Patrick's Day: Get drunk and buy green gifts for your friends.
Easter: Color eggs and buy candy and gifts for your kids.
4th of July: Buy everything Red, White, and Blue.
Halloween: Buy a ton of candy and give it to any child that dresses up and comes to your door.
Thanksgiving: Gorge yourself on turkey, dressing, pie, and whatever else you can get your hands on, then start Christmas shopping.
Christmas: Buy more than you can afford and give it to you friends, then pay all next year for it.

I don't know about other countries, but I think America makes everything into a retail event  [smiley=JAW_DROP.gif].

Hey Rena,

Yep, you're absolutely right, very commercial, and can I add one more, December 31
New years eve: Get drunk, watch Di ck Clark and the the big ball come down in NY, bang pots and pans and start all over again the next year.
[smiley=me&mb.gif]

Mar
 

Rena---what you say is so true----and you are VERY WITTY to come up with all those retail holiday events.....I was thinking more along the lines of Apple pie, baseball and Chevrolet......Be well, Pat [smiley=crackup.gif] [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Hey,
The retail of holidays keeps food on my table.  
I do know what you mean tho'.  Even tho I do work at a large Hallmark store, I have learned to scale back a bit and try more traditional things.

As for goofy, I never got kissing under the mistletoe.  Just because a plant is hanging, I gotta kiss someone.  Okay, not just someone, but my sweetie.  If I let him, he would hang it everywhere.    Anyone know where this originated?

Hey Tammy...Good one!!! Brings back lots a memories, like..."I saw momma kissing Santa claus" ...lol.. I love it!!! That's a great one. You don't need alot of reasons to give someone a kiss, but here's what I found out about it.

The Druids considered the "mistletoe" to be a sacred plant and believed it had miraculous properties which could cure illnesses, serve as an antidote against poisons, ensure fertility and protect against the ill effects of witchcraft. Moreover, whenever enemies met under the mistletoe in the forest, they had to lay down their arms and observe a truce until the next day. From this has seemingly come the ancient custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling and exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill.

Another version, however, says that this custom, which was widespread among the Anglo-Saxons, was connected to the legend of Freya, goddess of love, beauty and fertility. According to legend, a man had to kiss any young girl who, without realizing it, found herself accidentally under a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.


Even if the pagan significance has been long forgotten, the custom of exchanging a kiss under the mistletoe can still be found in many European countries as well as in Canada. Thus if a couple in love exchanges a kiss under the mistletoe, it is interpreted as a promise to marry, as well as a prediction of happiness and long life. In France, the custom linked to mistletoe was reserved for New Year’s Day: "Au gui l’An neuf" (Mistletoe for the New Year). Today, kisses can be exchanged under the mistletoe any time during the holiday season.

Anyways girl, that was a good tradition to remember. I love it.  Now gimme a kiss!! [smiley=winkkiss.gif]

Mar

Mar,

Didn't forget the New Years: Get drunk, make noise and start a new year with a hangover, just didn't know how to fit it in with my Retail theme....lol

Rena

Pat,
My mom was a shop-aholic, everything was a reason to shop....lol

I knew you wouldn't forget girl. Just wanted to say... we then start all over again...lol [smiley=ohjez.gif]

Rena----NOW , in this age of the Internet.....there is a VAST ARRAY of shopping on the web....don't even need to leave the house or the computer..........I am addicted to Overstock.com..........sometimes you get stuff up to 80% off......AND SHIPPING IS USUALLY $1.00 no matter how many items you get........Your Mom probably had to go to the mall......now, it's easier................lol Pat ;)

Forgot to say with respect to Overstock.com--sign up for Club O for even bigger savings.....and the $1.00 shipping.......P

Hey Mar,

[smiley=winkkiss.gif] [smiley=lick.gif]

Right back at ya!