In my last post, I wrote about a rather sedate spring tradition in Sweden. This weekend, we attended one of the quirkiest traditions we’ve heard of: the spring cow release, or kosläpp.
Swedish cows are stuck in a barn all winter long, and on one glorious day in spring, they are released into the fields again. Some farms make a celebration of the day and invite the public to the release. We went to a kosläpp sponsored by Arla, a major dairy company in Sweden, held at one of their farms north of Stockholm.
We grabbed all the milk we could drink and kanelbulle (cinnamon buns) we could eat, peeked at some cows waiting to be released, and met some friends who had staked out a viewpoint. We chatted and fika-ed and waited for the release.
When they came running out, as silly as it may sound, the cows did seem incredibly happy to be in the fields again. They practically danced into the fields. They ran, jumped, scratched in the dirt, butted heads, rubbed sides, and otherwise reveled in their rediscovered pastures. I think we adults found it more entertaining than the kids did!
We stuck around until nearly everyone else had left (who wants to be stuck in traffic with a 2-month old?) and the boys had fun climbing.
This makes me wonder what other crazy, quirky traditions different cultures have. What’s the quirkiest event you’ve been to or heard of?
Top and 7th photo from Arla.se; all others by me.
Summer in Sweden, and the winter traditions that got us through this year.
Jan Elliott says
What a joyous celebration! So simple, so fun