Genetically my family’s not Norwegian, Swedish, or Danish —nor even Finnish or Icelandic— but today we were honorary Scandinavians. Uffdah!
We enjoy learning about and celebrating other cultures, and immersive experiences —such as Junction City’s Scandinavian Festival— broaden our world while placating our wanderlust. Save for Frozen’s Elsa & Anna, IKEA’s swedish meatballs, and our dear friends with a strong Scandinavian heritage who share lefse each year at Christmas, the whole region was previously a bit of mystery to us…
Learning about Scandinavia also helped flesh out our recent homeschool history studies on the Vikings, who through their ruthless plundering actually helped edify and populate much of the region.
When it comes to geography and sociology, I appreciate a multi-sensory experience… It was helpful to smell, taste, touch, hear, and view a snapshot of Scandinavian life by way of traditional cuisine, clothing, music, dancing, handicrafts, and folklore.
Slowly but surely we’ll collect new passport stamps, hopefully someday to include a Scandinavian nation or two, but in the meantime I’m grateful for these Cliff’s Notes peekaboos into foreign cultures from right here at home.
Similar posts:
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.