Valborgsmässoafton (Walpurgis Night)

April 30th is Valborgsmässoafton (Walbpurgis Night) - Sweden's celebration of the coming of Spring. They celebrate by singing and dancing around giant bonfires. (Much alcohol is usually consumed.) In an effort to experience more of the Swedish culture, we decided to go to the Valborg celebration at one of the nearby parks, Pildams Parken. Sam and her kids (Aaron and Selena) went with us. We all walked from our house. I brought the wagon and some blankets.

We got the park in time for the Children's Show. Pretty much, it was music that was fun to dance to, so of course my children danced!

Lilli is wearing the little horse backpack that her daycare teachers gave her for her birthday. She wore it all night long. Tipton is wearing the 'special' glasses that were handed out when you entered the park. Pretty much the special glasses make rainbows appear around everything. The kids thought they were REALLY cool!

The kids wanted to get a better view of the bonfire (not yet lit) and the band. Here Aaron is riding on Sam's shoulders.

And Tipton is riding on Daddy's shoulders.

Lilli was riding on my shoulders. Unfortunately, there was not another adult to carry Selena, so she just stood in the wagon.

As the sun set, the children got cold. So they huddled together under one of the blankets.

Except for Lilli. She wanted to ride on my shoulders so that she could see what was going on.

After a short program (which we didn't really understand), they lit the bonfire. And just in time - it had just started raining.

We stayed, in the rain, until the last song. Then we headed for home. It was almost 10:00pm - the latest my kids have ever stayed up/awake. Tipton and Lilli rode in the wagon on the way home. And of course, they both fell asleep. Dave and I considered just rolling the wagon into the hallway and calling it a night, but we were responsible parents and actually got their teeth brushed and jammies on and put into bed.

It was a very late night, but I'm glad we went. It was nice to be a part of something that is so widely celebrated over here.