A Dala Posse
Original Announcement is below.
Carvings for Festival of Trees is here.
Information about Tomtrå at the bottom.
A Call for Carvings – The Dala Posse is headed to the Festival of Trees
May 2024
This summer consider making some decorations for the Rochester Woodcarvers’ tree for the Festival of Trees (Hiawatha Homes’ major fundraising event). Our tree this year will have a Swedish/Scandinavian theme. A ranch with Dala horses will be under the tree. Included will be some Tomtrå (Swedish gnomes) whose favorite animals are horses.
Here is a picture of some of the Dala horses that club members have been making.
We are counting on folks making some more items for the tree. Feel free to try your hand on a Dala horse. These include not only the traditional 3-D horses, but also chip carved, painted and even Kolrosed! We need some Tomte to care for the horses.
We are counting on folks making some more items for the tree. Feel free to try your hand on a Dala horse. These include not only the traditional 3-D horses, but also chip carved, painted and even Kolrosed! We need some Tomte to care for the horses.
Useful tree ornaments can include some Swedish items – along with the Tomte & horses, we need other decorations for the tree. This might be many different things, like sweaters or any kind of Scandinavian decorations. As in the past, all types of ornaments that are appropriate for a Christmas tree are welcome to help fill the tree.
Dala Horses Ride into Rochester
April 2024
The club asked everyone to make and decorate a Dala horse with this call to ride:
“The Rochester Woodcarvers club is inviting everyone to create a Dala horse. As a reminder, the Dala (or Dalecarlian) horse is a traditional carved, painted wooden statue of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna.
While it is common to see Dala’s in the 4-to-6-inch range with a red base color, we are encouraging people to do their own thing. If you want to make it a half inch or three feet tall, go for it! The same goes for the finish – dressed to the nines (like a traditional Dala), unfinished (showing the wood grain pattern) or your own style of design (even polka-dots). If you don’t wish to do the customary 3-D horse, consider other styles like chip carving or wood burning.
People will bring them to the April club meeting where we will present a few videos about the history and current state of Dala horses along with a bit of mythology.
Folks should bring them to our annual show (the last weekend of March). If you have a table, you can display it there. Otherwise, bring it to show alongside Dalas from other volunteers (maybe on the welcome table).
Finally, there are thoughts about integrating Dalas with the theme for this year’s Festival of Trees tree. (This is still a preliminary idea. Stay tuned for a final determination.)
If you cannot provide the wood, blanks will be available at the February meeting.
So join the posse – grab some wood and start making wood chips!”
We had a great response from members joining the Posse. They brought their wonderful creations to the April meeting where we also presented a few videos about the history and manufacturing of Dalas.
An online album of photos from the meeting’s display is HERE.
The list of YouTube videos played is HERE.
Keep an eye out for these horses. Donated ones will be integrated into the theme for this year’s Festival of Trees.
More Information about Tomtrå
(Collected from A Field Guide to the Little People and other sources)
Anglicised: Singular – Tomte; Plural – Tomten, Tomtar; Translation – “homestead man”
The Tomten are Nissen and related to other gnomes, but they have some distinct differences. A Tomte looks like an old man, around 2 feet tall. While they have a large beard, they are not all hair like some other gnomes. While rarely seen, Tomten are known to wear drab colored robes and pants of grey or green and a woolly red hat. While they may look similar to other gnomes, don’t let that fool you, Tomten have many more duties than their holiday creature lookalikes. Tomten generally live on farms where they keep the farm and house clean.
A Tomte rules over their household with an iron thumb. He has a passion for work and works overtime to ensure their space is spotless. He doesn’t like people interfering with their tasks. One way to irritate a Swedish gnome is to change something in the house. Other ways to disturb a Tomte is to be rude, mistreat an animal, disrespect the farm or being a lazy farmer. Retribution could range from a minor slap on the side of the head up to removing the livestock.
Traditional stories claim that a Tomte is a spirit powered by the original farmer who created the farm, especially if he was buried on or close to the farm. His work ethic comes from the continued drive to make the farm succeed.
Tomten are hard to spot on account of their tiny size and overnight work schedule. Despite their tiny stature, Tomten could sometimes possess incredible strength. Their salary? Rice porridge, of course—and you better not forget the butter! Their most treasured animal is the horse and favorite art is fiddling.