THE S »» PRESS No. 18 Nya Svenska Pressen Vancouver, B.C., Torsdagen den 24 juni 1943. Vol. VII FESTIVAL NUMBER CANDIDATES FOR MIDSUMMER QUEEN. (From left): Daisy Johnson, Sweden; Eva Varile, Finland; Dora Davies, Iceland; Lorraine Solem, Norway; Esther Madsen, Denmark A GREETING FROM THE ICELANDERS. FRIENDS: Sunday June 27th is the day of this year’s Scandinavian mid-summer festival, a gathering which has gained much pro-minence in the social life of Scandlnavian people in Vancouver and surrounding areas. We as I c e 1 a n d e r s feel that through taking part in the midsummer festival for the past four years,that we have gained much enjoyment as well as inspiration to uphold our national identity in a land so far a-way from our natlve shores. Twice wre have had the plea-sure of having the giri of our choice crowned as Queen of the festival. We have tried in our humble way to assist both with the preparing of the festival as well as performing the vari-ous duties on the day of the gathefyng. In Iceland there is so much difference between su/nmer and ; winter that the people rejoice j when summer approaches. Af-| ter the long and dreary winter j nights it is so uplifting to ob- j serve the long hours of sun- | shine and in fact the midnight sun. It is so beautiful to watch the flowers grow, flowers that only the North dhn produce with their beauty and glory that make one realize that there is almost no end to what the Creative hand of nature can do to decorate this little world of ours. It is this time of the year that one feels that it is a pri-vilege to be living and one feels that the hardships endured during the preceding winter were well worth the while in order to enioy the summer that has followed. Small wonder thcrefore that if it is at all possoble for us to get away from our duties for that day, that we leave our homes in all sections of Vancouver and the suburbs of the ntv and c o m e - out for the Scandinavian midsummer festival either by Street car. in our own cars or else on foot and । when we get to ^evmnur Park i we have the feeling that once aealn we are helping to swell out a crowd of people, the like i of which our Nordic people never form at any other time 1 of the year. We look forward to attending this years festival. MAGNUS ELIASON Scandinavian Midsummer Festival SEYMOUR PARK June, 27th, 1943 FESTIVAL PROGRAM O CANADA ADDRESS OF WELCOME M. C., Sid Seaholm ACCORDION DUET Alf Carlson, Horacé Lazzari VOCAL SOLO Mrs. F. Palmu (In Finnish) VIOLIN SOLO, Leon Bjarnason RECITATION M. M. Lindfors (In Swedish), TRIO (Vocal and Instrumental) | Mrs. Albertson, Mrs. Hansen Mr. Skofteby RECITATION John Madsen (In Danish) VOCAL ÖUET Sylvia Laakso, Gunnar Abbors ACCORDION DUET Alf Carlson, Horace Lazzari RECITATION Mrs. J. Larsen (In Norwegian) VOCAL SOLO Mrs. Dagny Hjorth (In Danish) VOCAL TRIO Mrs. U. Vitanen, Mrs. F. Palmu, Mrs. H. Kangas RECITATION Magnus Eliason (In Icelandic) CHOICE OF QUEEN Master of Ceremony Officiates CROWNING OF QUEEN Ålderman W. D. Greyell ADDRESS, M. M. Lindfors FOLIKDANCES Scandinavian Workers Club Junior Folkdance Team GOD SAVE THE KING (Miss Sheila Klrkwood, Pianist) ■ (Children’s Races immediately after conclusion of Program, Here the two movie actress?s, Karin Ekelund and Marie Louise Sorbonne, help with the sale of the “Norway -Pin ’, for aid to Norway, at the Nordiska Kompaniet Department Store in Stockholm. More than 400,000 “Norway - Pins’’ have been sold in Sweden at the price of 1 kr,, equalling a total of approximately $100.000. Mr. Algot Swanson in Charge.) MIDSUMMER. When we, this month, are thinking of Denmark as we re-member it, with its green sea-shores and blue inlets, we feel an inward urge to sing with Holger Drachman........... With this in our thoughts, we try to stage our “Midsummer Festival”, which is typi- cally Scandinavian over here in our adopted country. Every country has its sagas fröm long past: Old Denmark as well as any. And when we follow its history far back, we see how it is built up, stone on stone, from fantasy and reali-ty the works of different t imes, the deeds of men, to form .the history of our country. Without our realizing it, there are traces of that deep-down in our souls and in our mode of thinking, in our reactions to life as it meets us today. Maybe there is still a drop of 20th century Norsemen that King Gustaf V Celebrates 85th Birthday. Stockholm, June 16th The entire Swedish nation today united in celebrating the 85th birthday of King Gustaf V. Throughout the land the obser-vance was opened with the ringing of church bells, while in Stockholm hundreds of thou-sands of persons gathered. These included the Governors of all provinces and all the Bishops as well as many school children from distant parts of the country who had saved their pennies for two years to make the trip. The King drove through the streets of Stockholm in an open carriage drawn by four horses, while his sub-jects and visitors lined the streets and cheered. Buildings were decorated with the Swedish flag and the King’s monogram. In the courtyard of thel Royal Palace 10.000 persons aSsembled in addition to depu-tations from some 300 Swedish organizations. Premier Per. Albin Hansson and other Government officials greeted the King, while massed choruses sang the national anthem. In the af-ternoon the King received mes-sages from the communities of Ystad and Haparanda, the extreme Southern and norShern towns in Sweden. Tha mes-sages had been carried by re-lays of 700 couriers on foot. Sweden’s press today is filled with tributes to the King. gives them their particular; traits and features, mental and physical. Unconsciously we feel the responsibility of our great history to preserve our good traditions and customs. At school we learned the history of our country. Facts and data had to be learned by heart, some to it to be forgotten again. But “There is but one opinion in Sweden: That King Gustaf Is personality has been the unify-ing factor, both during the de-cadt s when political social de- often, later in life, we delve into historical books and read anew and with more appre-ciation what happened in days gone by. It is good for the develop-ment of our understanding to look back and see our country and our nation as it was then, and to follow its development down through the changing times; to read of its struggles and defeats, its sufferings and victories. A w h o 1 e row of changing monarchs and out-standing personalities pass by. Not alone of Denmark, but of all Scandinavia which was then one, and we feel that those connection and ties can never hreak. We are not alone children of the moment. We understand through our history that we have root in all that which has passed. The past, the present. and the future cannot be senarated. The present stands on the shoulders of the past as the future will rest on our shoulders. That is our responsibility. We want to leave a better world behind for our people to live in. One man cannot do this—one nation cannot do it. It takes co-operation between’ the nations of the world. We Scandinavians are noted the world over for cooperative spirit. Let us pull together now and help the Scandinavian Central Committee in its endea-vour for Scandinavian co-operation, and make the Midsummer Festival a great success. For DB. S. Vancouver Lodge No. 328 JOHN MADSEN (Denmark) ICE1 ANDIC GIFT TO NORWEGIAN PEOPLE London, May 25 — (By Wire-less to N.I.S.) — The Town Council of the Icelandic City of Akureyrl has given 20,000 mociacy gained its presents position in Swedish society and also during the present trying times,” says Social-Demokra-ten. FOR CLOSER FRIENDSHIP Midsummer with all its traditions to the Scandinavian people is once again upon us and again the Scandinavian Central Committee issues the call to a joint celebration in order to even more closelyunite the Scandinavian péoples' and cement the friendship. This year when the light is just heginning to shine through the clouds of war is is more important than ever that ajl Scandinavians stand united. The Central Committee thus serves a very essential purpose in British Columbia by sponsoring this festival and thereby bringing together great numbers of the sons and daughters of old Scandinavia, who on this Midsummer day be reminded of the traditions of their homeland. The committee in charge of the festival this year has done evci yt ning. possible to fill every moment of this day with the true Nordic spirit. There is a program to which each of the five nationalities has contribut-ed. The h i g h 1 i g h t, of the Festival, of course, is the Crowning of the Midsummer Queen amongst the beautiful surroundings of Seymour Park. Let us make this year’s festival a festival to truly com-memorate midsummer day by joiuing our fellow Scandinavians at Seymour Park on June 27th. T. JEVNB (Norway) Icelandic crowns to the Norwegian Relief Fund with the request that the money be ear-marked for the inhabitants of the Norwegian town of Aale-sund. In 1906 Aalesund sent several wooden houses to Aku-reyri after the Icelandic city had been razed by fire.