Bride and Groom wearing traditional wedding costumes, Ulvik, Vestland, Norway, ca 1997
This used postcard is a Snorre Natur og Kulturforlaget product with SD140 printed at the bottom edge on the reverse. The photograph is by Snorre Aske. A cousin sent this card in 1997. The blurb at the upper left on the reverse says: “Traditions are kept up in Norwegian fjords. You can still see bridal parties arriving at the church by boat. National costume from Hardanger with gold brooch. Ulvik.” The village and Ulvikafjorden, are seen in the background.
Norway is divided into fylke or counties. In 2020 some of the counties were combined and renamed. The village of Ulvik, situated on an arm of the Hardanger fjord, that was formerly in Hordaland. Today it is in the new county of Vestland, which resulted from the merging of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane. This bunad or national costume is slightly different than the one found in the area closer to Bergen where the Landaas family lived. However, the colors are similar and it has the traditional and distinctive Hardanger cutout embroidery on the bride’s apron. The beautiful sølje pin seen at the upper right on the card is not only decorative but in times past was functional. There were no buttons on the blouse or vest and the pins were used as fasteners. The pins are handmade, usually in sterling silver with gold spoons or disks. Anciently the spoons were supposed reflect the sun and protect the wearer.
The bee and ladybug stamps, issued in1997, are fun and were part of a sheet featuring several different types of insects.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulvik_(village)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestland
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete