Trosaversary

Today we celebrated Sweden’s National Day at Trostorp, Trosa and, finally, Stockholm. We joined a lot of other people in celebrating the flag and the formation of Sweden back in 1523. But the day means more to us. It was, after all, the first day we ever visited Trosa. Back in 2021, on a single day out, we fell in love with the place. And, we loved it so much we wanted to live there. And, of course, we now do.

The weather was generally warm and sunny though there were a few sprinkles of rain while we sat, eating our open sandwiches at Trostorp, listening to music, speeches and a choir that Mirinda claimed could have been better.

Actually, it was a day for music and speeches. And, while the music was good, the speeches were not so much. At least the one in Trosa was a bit dull. I say ‘dull’ but we didn’t understand a lot of it. The guy who gave the speech didn’t include any laughs and it felt like the applause at the end was more to signal relief, than pleasure.

He included a lot of ‘thank yous’ to a lot of people. He mentioned Finafisken many times. We have no idea why, given he actually came from Vinhuset.

The gathering in Trosa began in the Centrum, with a marching band, heading for Garvaregården. The band was followed by the townsfolk, swarming down the street in pursuit. Lots of flags; lots of yellow and blue. Young and old, fit and not so fit, the crowd smiled and laughed its way to the garden.

The oddest thing about the day was that we didn’t see anyone we knew. This has to be the first time this has happened at a public event type situation.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. As we left the house to walk into Trosa, we ran into Beth and Matts from next door. Beth isn’t one for celebrating things like Sweden Day. Later, as we approached the Vitalisskolan, we spotted my builder friend who was busy working on the MTB track. He spotted Mirinda’s moratorium t-shirt and remarked on it. It didn’t look like he was going to celebrate either.

Of course, no-one else was celebrating the same way we were. Given the ocassion, we had booked a table at Matstudio unlike most people. Although, the tables of people that were there, seemed to enjoy it as much as we always do.

Although, possibly most enjoyment for the day, was garnered from the flags.

Back in 1983 the day was changed to the national day. Prior to that, it was Swedish Flag Day. Both at Trostorp and Garvaregården there was a lot flag attention followed by the customary four cheers. This made me wonder why it’s four, rather than the three we’re used to. This made me wonder why we give three.

Sadly, I haven’t been able to find out why it’s three. Or four. If I was to guess, I’d say that it’s three because it starts ‘hip, hip, hooray’ which is three. Saying it three times simply follows the meter. Four, on the other hand…well, who knows?

As well as the flags and the cheers, there was also the national anthem and, to our disgrace, we didn’t know it. We only knew it was the national anthem because everyone stood up and sang it. Mind you, while a lot of people joined in the singing, it wasn’t sung with the gusto one usually hears when the Brits sing God Save the Queen/King.

Finally, the day wound down as we returned to the house in time for the final few songs of the big royal concert at Skansen. And while Princess Victoria appeared to enjoy it from her front row seat, her father, the King, looked glum and bored. He looked even worse at the end of the concert when he walked across the stage before leaving for the ugly palace.

In the palace grounds, in front of the main entrance, the entire palace staff stood and listened to a military band play a few tunes. They all looked utterly miserable which was odd because I thought the band was quite good.

At the end, the King went and had a short chat to the conductor. This was after he’d stood looking miserable at the foot of the steps leading up to his front door. I do wonder whether he has this band rather than a radio. I also wonder if he went and told the conducter to take his band away because he really wanted to go upstairs for a drink.

Or maybe he was asking the conductor why he had a row of military medals on his tunic. Sweden has been neutral for longer than he’s been serving, so what were they for? Swimming? Spelling? Maybe conducting?

Very mysterious.

Still, a fitting end to an excellent day. And, as an added bonus, here’s a bit of footage of the marching band in Trosa.

I told Mirinda she should get one of those blue and yellow traditional outfits. She said she would when she becomes a citizen. To wear at the ceremony. Which made me wonder why the men don’t wear a traditional outfit as well.

This entry was posted in Gary's Posts. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.