Some of my ancestors came from
the vicinity of Vikøyri in Vik Municipality, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway.
This is a photograph of the Hopperstad Stave Church there. While it is not
possible and never will be possible to know if any of my ancestors attended a
service there or even saw the church, it is not unreasonable to suppose some
might have been there since my direct-line, paternal ancestry has been traced to the mid-1500s in
that region and since the church is assumed to have been built around the year
1130 and still stands at its original location.
Today is Thanksgiving in the
United States. I like Thanksgiving, and have many good memories of it from
years past and hope to create many more in the years ahead. Anyone who comes
here and reads here knows I like old books / old films / old music. Other than
the photograph, all that is here today are three videos of music from the "last
century" .... songs that I like, songs that I am thankful to hear ....
The Rolling Stones .. "She's A
Rainbow"
= have you seen her dressed in blue?
The Three Degrees .. "When Will
I See You Again?"
= moments of pure beauty in
harmony
The Greg Kihn Band .. "The
Breakup Song"
or When Love Goes
= one last dance, ok, baby?
9 comments:
Wow!!!Thats a fine story!May be you come from The Vikings!
Vik in sogn is a nice little place.I have been there once-Very pretty!
I was once married to a farmer from Leikanger in Sogn and its not far away.
About Hopperstad church.In Bergen Museum there is a Madonna with the child from 1230-1235 of oak tree, which has come from Hopperstad's neighboring church Hove church. However, there has been speculation about whether she may have been in the ciborium in Hopperstad and then moved to Hove. The sculpture is one of the finest unggotic sculptures that are preserved in Norway. One does not know if she was made in England or she was cut out in Bergen by an English woodcutter I have many photoes of the Madonna..She is so young and happy looking at her plump little child The Stavechurch also have many well prepared wood scupltures..I should like to travel there once..Stave churches are often made on pagan ground from old days so yes interesting!
Have you done that ancestry dna test?
I have heard about it ..but the spit test is it to be trusted?
When will I see you again
Love the music..I didnt belive you like The Rolling Stones?I do not listen to them nowadays..But I got a warm memorie from Angie.My first love gave that song to me..Always to remember-Well he is dead no God bless his soul..The last song i have never heard before..but it is good if you are in the rocking mood:))
Here at my place its pitchdark every day(4 hours of daylight) and its getting darker..We are all very confused after the clocks were
turned..it is cold with frost outside.Expecting a long cold winther..
Btw you should take your family and travel to Sogn once?You woud be surprised by the beautful landscape and town whcich pretty much follows the old traditions
You made a very good post Fram,Interesting!
Have a nice weekend and well done Thanks giving
(We dont celebrate that thing and we do not know anything about it besides eating turkey )
Anita
Happy Thanksgiving, Fram to you and your family!
May your Thanksgiving be peaceful and relaxing.
I have never heard before about "Three Degrees" and Greg Kihn Band. I like their songs!
Yes, we all know that you like old books, old songs you are thankful to hear...
You have left me a very interesting and a very sweet comment, Anita. Thank you.
The genealogy tracking report was done by a cousin of mine who is a Lutheran minister. For that reason, I should believe it is true and accurate, but my experience with clergymen of varying faiths over the years leaves me with a measure of doubt about the honesty of any of them. And, yes, I have had my DNA tested. The results were these:
Norway 90% (Refined from: Scandinavia 89%)
Sweden 7% (Refined from: Scandinavia 89%)
Germanic Europe 3% (New)
These numbers would seem to be very accurate based on my own knowledge of where my ancestors lived before coming to the United States in the 1850s. I know the cities/regions in both Germany and Norway where they were born.
I will leave that subject behind for now and write a few words about music. You are right in a sense, there is not much music from and by the Rolling Stones that I do like, but there are a few I really enjoy and often listen to .... they are:
Gimme Shelter; Paint It Black; Wild Horses; You Can’t Always Get What You Want; Lady Jane; Mother's Little Helper; Angie; and the Stones' version of Buddy Holly's Not Fade Away. I would imagine there are a few others, but those pop into my head at the moment.
The same is true of many singers and/or bands. I cannot think of an individual or of a group for which I really like every song in their repertoire. Conversely, there are many singers and bands which have only one song I like .... for instance, the Greg Kihn Band and its, "The Breakup Song," that you had never heard before, is a great example of the only song by a specific group that I do like. Pardon the "French," but it is a hell of a fun song to dance to, especially after a few drinks .... hmmmm .... that was the Marine Corps part of me which wrote that ....
I especially enjoyed reading (and learning) what you wrote about Vik in Sogn and Leikanger in Sogn and your connection to them. I cannot recall you ever mentioning them before. This is what I mean when I say I would like to know more about you personally, Anita.
I just traveled to your museum in Bergen. Did you see me there? I am teasing, of course, but I went via the internet and had a look at your "Madonna with the child from 1230-1235 of oak tree, which has come from Hopperstad's neighboring church Hove church." She indeed is very beautiful and, as you wrote, "so young and happy looking at her plump little child." I think she and her child are the image of what all mothers and newborn children should be .... radiantly beautiful and serene.
It is not impossible that I would find my way to Norway some day, but I can assuredly say it would not be with any family members. I have no wife at this time and my children and I seldom see each other for more than a day or two at a time. Such is life, as I am sure you have been discovering as Alexander grows more and more into his own person.
There are many reasons I would like to visit Norway -- in particular, places where my ancestors lived their lives, and Bergen, where I would have a knowledgeable, attractive young lady as my guide.
(This is so long that I need to break it into two pieces .... back momentarily ....)
(Part 2 of my reply to Anita ....)
Thanksgiving is a holiday in the United States in November (the fourth Thursday) and in Canada (sometime in October) and a few other places. It began in 1621 as a "feast" by pilgrims to celebrate a bountiful harvest. It became an official holiday when Abraham Lincoln made it one during the Civil War. That is about all I actually know other than many use it as a four-day holiday to include Friday and the weekend. The Friday after Thanksgiving is now known as "Black Friday," and has become all the rage during the past decade or so with pre-Christmas sales driving shoppers absolutely, unequivocally crazy. Black Friday is the one day of the year I refuse to go shopping for anything, anywhere.
Hmmmm .... this reply to your comment began as a happy note, but drifted down to Black Friday, so I will try to cheer things up a bit. Thanksgiving, to me, is a time to remind myself that I truly am Fram the Fortunate in many ways -- probably in most ways -- and on this day I try to think only happy thoughts.
Thank you, once more, Anita of Bergen, for your wonderful comment. I am not certain when I will post next. Maybe around Pearl Harbor Day (December 7), if not before. I need to find something to renew my enthusiasm for life (whoops, that was not exactly a happy thought, was it?). Anyway .... keep on rocking, girl, and try to enjoy everything that is good in your life.
I send you my hope for only the best of the best in your life .... take care and be safe ....
So, Kaya, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, as well, and a day of peace and serenity for you and for your family. My son will arrive Friday evening, so we will have the weekend together.
Many young ladies have come to and gone from the group, Three Degrees, but the lead singer for this song and many others has been Sheila Ferguson. She has a voice and a charm and a style which make me wonder why she never had the acclaim of a Diana Ross or a Ronnie Spector or any number of other singers I could name. I think those three and others which come to mind are superb.
The Greg Kihn Band is among the "one-hit wonder bands." If you listened to the song here, you just heard this band's one and only big hit. Personally, I think the song is terrific and wish there were more like it.
Thank you, Kaya, for coming here and for writing here. Your presence always makes me happy .... remember that ....
Very interesting architecture Gorgeous!
In the Middle Ages the construction of stone was expensive, the wooden building was much cheaper.
It is great that this church has remained until today.
The sad thing is that the old wooden churches are destroyed by burning.
In Finland there are also many churches that have been burnt.
Thanksgiving is an important thing.
Life is positive when you can appreciate every living day.
Do not think too much about what's lost.
Every day is a Thanksgiving Day.
Powerful color energy in the first video.
Another video with delicate beautiful music.
I like the third clip of music.
Happy November days!
Many old/ancient churches are interesting and attractive from my point of view. That they often are constructed in places which were considered sacred by those who came before the time of "contemporary" religions adds to their mystique. It is because of things like this that I am drawn to history and to archaeology.
I think it is profane to burn old structures of any sort, Liplatus. I respect believers of any religion and atheists, as well, as long as they cause no harm to others and they are not zealots about their faith. Zealots, whether religious or political, are the most dangerous individuals among us, in my opinion, and the lemming-like characteristics of the human species often allows them to rise to power. Hmmmm .... there he goes again, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan ....
Life is a gift, it seems to me, and I am happy to have it .... and, yes, every day should be a day of thanksgiving.
I am glad you like the music. I especially like the sound of Three Degrees and the last one is a super example of a great "old time" rock 'n' roll dance song. If you like it, that means you probably would have fit in very well with those times.
Thank you, Liplatus, for being here and for writing here. I greatly appreciate your presence ....
so wonderful....
happy thanksgiving
Thank you, Tanza Erlambang .... and, Happy Thanksgiving to you, as well.
It appears you are relatively new to both the United States and to the sea of blogs. I would like to welcome you and to wish you good fortune in all your endeavors.
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