Scandinavian costumes on parade at Cultural Centre

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/04/2015 (4185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On April 19, the Swedish Cultural Association of Manitoba hosted a Scandinavian national  dress parade and brunch at the Scandinavian Cultural Centre at 764 Erin St.

Sonja Lundstrom, president of the Swedish Cultural Association, designed and sewed all the Swedish costumes and the red Danish dress worn by Helle from the island of Funen (the home of Hans Christian Andersen). In Denmark, each region has a different costume.

Lundstrom and her associates first saw the Swedish costume, as worn by Queen Sylvia, on the web. The costume was introduced in 1983, when Sweden established a nation day. Seeing the costume sparked the idea for the winter sewing project and was the catalyst for the costume parade. Sonja made the first pattern to fit her and when the ladies saw it, they wanted one too.

The Swedish costume is dark blue, its bodice embroidered with daisies, with a yellow apron with a blue border embroidered with daisies. It is worn over a white blouse, with white stockings and black clogs or shoes. The belt has a silver buckle in the centre and the earrings and brooch come from Sweden.

The woman fourth from the left in the picture is wearing a ‘homemade’ Leksand costume, from the province of Dalarna in Sweden with an authentic red, green and white scarf. The man standing next to her is in an authentic Swedish men’s costume complete with the moose-hide leggings.

The woman in the green vest is wearing a costume from Pitea, Sweden. This outfit is worn with red stockings, the buttons are silver fish and her earrings are from Jokkmokk. Her bracelet was made by one of her cousins from reindeer hide and the buttons from antler.  

The woman in the middle of the picture with the red shawl is wearing a Swedish regional costume from the northern province of Jamtland. The gentleman on her right is wearing a Norwegian regional costume from the port city of Stavanger.

There are two more Danish costumes in this picture — one from Lange Linie in Copenhagen worn by women selling fish near the harbour. The woman wearing it is standing beside the man in Norwegian costume. In front of them is a woman wearing another Danish costume.

The blond woman wearing the hat with the tassel is wearing an Icelandic national dress called upphlutur, the most commonly worn Icelandic national dress.

The Scandinavian Cultural Centre hosts a brunch every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information visit www.scandinaviancentre.ca

Arny Hjaltadottir is a community correspondent for the West End.