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All over Sweden these "Majstången" are raised to show where Midsommar will be celebrated a few hours later. This one is on Styrsö at Styrö Bratten. Videos to be added will show you what goes on here. But first three other pictures, the first a new addition on July 03 for reasons explained in the caption, all three showing new additions to the traditional Styrsö Midsommar thanks to the arrival of these young men from Afghanistan.
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| This photo added today July 03 after reading Nicholas Kristof's column in the New York Times OnLine where a comment from Bos closes with specific reference to the words on this T shirt. I have filed a reply to BOS telling him that if he visits my blog he can see the T shirt he is quoting, albeit in a very unusual setting, Midsommar on a Swedish island. |
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On Styrsö, hundreds of people of all ages will gather round Majstången. Many will be wearing a krans (A crown, a wreath with flowers) like the one worn by den svenska flickan (the Swedish girl) here. But next to her is a bearer of new tidings as we see from his friends in the next picture
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Here are two of his friends bringing perhaps a new tradition
to Midsommar, a flower over the ear. To the left of the man
with the hat is another svensk tjej (Swedish girl) also with
the traditional krans.
When the dancing was over I found these three and a few more friends and asked if they spoke Dari (Persian, Farsi as spoken in Afghanistan. I had guessed right, they are all asylum seekers who have been living on the island for about a year while waiting for a decision. I told them that if I see them on the boat we can fika and I can lead them to the blog.
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