Half Forgotten Norwegian Weirdness

So that other post about Norwegian weirdness was pretty much just me being annoyed by my in-laws.  My apologies for casting broad cultural aspersions based solely on personal bias.  But this one really is weird, and I had pretty much forgotten all about it.

Where do I begin?

• I shall shamelessly steal Tales of a Texpatriot's bullet point format.
• She calls it 'random'.
• I call it 'liberating'.
• Very useful for those days (and subjects) when you can't be bothered with any of that narrative arc bullshit.
• Onward
• The quality of the above photos is bad because they were taken with my cell phone camera one gray, blustery day in June.
• My cell phone camera sucks.
• Also, it is absurdly difficult to get pictures off a cell phone and onto a computer.
• Thank you, Jørgen for your help in this matter.
• The kid with his finger up his nose--NOT. MY. KID.
• Children dressed as mini brides and grooms and pulled in a horse drawn carriage.
• Adorable.  But, why?
• It has something to do with SanktHans Aften--Midsummer's Eve.
• Also called Jonsokk.
• Also Olsokk.
• Three names.  One night.  Why?
• So I asked one of the barnehage teachers, "Why is my son dressed as a mini groom and riding in a horse drawn carriage?"
• She was pretty sure the tradition comes from Voss (mountain community east of Bergen, much skiing, really lovely, entirely sullied by the prevalance of smalahove)
• Smalahove must be seen to be believed.
• Dis
• Gusting
• Then I said to the barnehage teacher, "Where is not the same thing as why.  Why?"
• She couldn't say.
• So I asked Mister, "Why did the barnehage tantes dress our son and his classmates as mini brides and grooms and parade them around in a horse drawn carriage?"
• Mister had no idea.
• Though he had a vague memory of his older sister being dressed thusly on one occasion.
• Or maybe it was just a picture he saw once, and thought of Hildegunn.
• Googling is no help.
• Because, honestly, what do you google?
• All of the mini brides and grooms were 6 years old and leaving the barnehage to begin grade school in August.
• So maybe it's a graduation, mile-stone marker kind of event?
• But no. 
• Mister says some villages have mini brides and grooms lead the parade on 17. Mai (Constitution Day).
• No word yet on why.
• Those are all real flowers.
• Real roses.  Real daisies.  Real ferny greenery.
• Someone put some serious time and effort into gathering these get-ups and making those head pieces.
• Plus--where'd the farking horse come from?
• No one told me these mini nuptials were going to happen.
• Hence the lack of camera, and the mini-pixeled cell phone pictures.
• Perhaps it was rushed.
• Perhaps one of the girls was pregnant.
• Perhaps they married them all off to hide the identity of the one.
• Speaking of the girls, they were gorgeous.
• I wish someone had given me a tiara of fresh roses and a gauzy veil to wear while being driven around the football field in a horse drawn carriage.
• They didn't even ask.
• I wonder why..
• If anyone out there has any illuminating information about this adorable, yet inexplicable tradtion, by all means....
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