Scandinavia Culture

Although it was 50 degrees with rain expected in Oslo on Sunday, thousands of lovers of everything Norse enjoyed sunshine and 70-degree temperatures at Cal Lutheran University's 28th annual Scandinavian Festival. With campus lawns converted into a small village, people strolled past rows of gently flapping flags from Scandinavian countries and listened to live accordion and fiddle music on the main stage. Vendors sold Danish clogs, Swedish rag rugs and imported tchotchkes.

In the 1950s and '60s, Americans clamored for sleek Scandinavian chairs, tables and sofas in teak and monochrome fabrics. Then, like too much of a good thing, the craze faded out. Some 30 years later, Scandinavia's back in style. Swedish design in particular, both vintage and new, is being sought by collectors and designers alike, and L.A. and environs has its share of specialty shops.

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes junior in the baby carriage. Not in Scandinavia, though. At least, not in that order. The pragmatists who ushered premarital sex and living together into the Western mainstream have all but given up on marriage as a framework for family living, preferring cohabitation even after their children are born.

Although it was 50 degrees with rain expected in Oslo on Sunday, thousands of lovers of everything Norse enjoyed sunshine and 70-degree temperatures at Cal Lutheran University's 28th annual Scandinavian Festival. With campus lawns converted into a small village, people strolled past rows of gently flapping flags from Scandinavian countries and listened to live accordion and fiddle music on the main stage. Vendors sold Danish clogs, Swedish rag rugs and imported tchotchkes.

In the 1950s and '60s, Americans clamored for sleek Scandinavian chairs, tables and sofas in teak and monochrome fabrics. Then, like too much of a good thing, the craze faded out. Some 30 years later, Scandinavia's back in style. Swedish design in particular, both vintage and new, is being sought by collectors and designers alike, and L.A. and environs has its share of specialty shops.

First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes junior in the baby carriage. Not in Scandinavia, though. At least, not in that order. The pragmatists who ushered premarital sex and living together into the Western mainstream have all but given up on marriage as a framework for family living, preferring cohabitation even after their children are born.