Brooke Thames, A&E Writer
A lot more than sweaters were exchanged at the Danish Bazaar and Nordic Exchange hosted by Pacific Lutheran University’s Scandinavian Cultural Center on Nov. 22.
The weekend marked the fifth year that the Scandinavian Cultural Center has held this Christmas-themed sale in collaboration with The Danish Sisterhood, a group of 30 women that meets monthly in the center located in the lower level of the Anderson University Center.
Every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, The Danish Sisterhood organizes and executes a large and extravagant shopping experience featuring homemade items of Scandinavian culture.
Handmade goods such as cookies, dishes and clothing were displayed on tables that fill both the lower UC and the Scandinavian Cultural Center.
PLU students, faculty and other citizens of the Parkland/Tacoma area are invited each year to experience the rich culture of Nordic tradition and take a little piece of it home to enjoy.
While this year’s event was only the fifth that The Danish Sisterhood and PLU’s Scandinavian Cultural Center have presented the Danish Bazaar and Nordic Exchange, the tradition is far from new.
Dr. Elisabeth Ward, the Director of the Scandinavian Cultural Center, explained that for years an organization called “The Faculty Wives Club” had produced a Christmas sale similar to the on currently put on.
“Small, independent vendors from all over Washington [came] together to sell their products — kind of like a swap meet, but with a Christmas theme,” Ward said.
The Scandinavian Cultural Center members, made up of alumni, emeritus faculty, and Scandinavian-Americans in the Parkland area, also held a sweater exchange with The Faculty Wives Club. At this sale, members sold their own used Scandinavian items — often sweaters — mostly to each other.
As time progressed, however, the faculty wives club dwindled until they were no longer able to organize the event.
The Danish Sisterhood has since stepped in and the Danish Bazaar and Nordic Exchange has flourished as an annual Holiday event.
“[The Exchange] is now the only chance on campus for students, staff and faculty to get a jump on Christmas shopping with special handmade items,” Ward said. “We were very pleased with this year’s event, which was well attended and a lot of fun!”
