Medieval fairs in the States always feel like a fantasy novel. Here, it is more like a celebration of your ancestors. Old ladies show off their lace, crafts people sell the wares that their grandparents taught them to make. Plus, it is an excuse to dress up. Astri helped out in the leather craft booth of some friends. It was held on the grounds of a historical museum, and you can see one of the old storehouses that were rebuilt here.
2 Comments
Embroideries from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and basically every stan. In Norwegian dialect, you say "alle stan" to mean "everywhere."
It's just down the road. Astri used to be the sexton here, mowing around the graves, opening and locking the church at the proper times, ringing the bells, and tossing frost-heaved bones into the bushes. A few years ago, there were honeybees in the walls. They got into the church proper and so the exterminators were called. Over 600 pounds of honey were retrieved and the bees were poisoned. Now, the church is covered in scaffolding for repainting. They painted it 10 years ago for the new bishop's visit. When she arrived, she took a nap in the sacristy and left her gold cross when she woke up and left for the next appointment. Astri is proud to report that she ran after the holy lady and gave it back. I hope that puts the scaffolding in context. The church was built using gambling money and burned before it was consecrated. Obviously, God wanted them to rebuild but with clean money. So the iron foundry workers were taxed until the church could be rebuilt in 1905, and it has been there on the hill overlooking the lake ever since. View from the church. Wildflowers.
|
|