Hårgaberget mot Bollnäs

Bild tagen från utsiktstornet på Hårgaberget (212 meter över havet) i Hanebo, Hälsingland. Hårgasägnen är en legend om hur djävulen själv, förklädd som spelman fick ungdomarna i byn Hårga att dansa sig till döds på Hårgabergets topp. De äldsta uppteckningarna av sägnen är inte mer än hundra år gamla och man vet inte riktigt dess ursprung.

Hälsingehambon (www.halsingehambon.se) som dansas varje år i juli, med nästan tusen deltagare, börjar med en dramatisering av Hårgasägnen på Hårga äng och där börjar dansen till Hårgalåten och fortsätter i fler etapper och avslutning i Långnäsparken i Bollnäs.

View from the tower at the top of the legendary mountain Hårgaberget in Hanebo, Hälsingland. According to the legend the devil himself, dressed up as a folk musician, attended a dance at a barn. He began to play a now famous melody, “Hårgalåten”, enchanting all the dancers. Then he went out and settled for the mountain, with all the dancers dancing after him in a long line. They all went up to the top of the mountain, and there they danced until only the skulls were left.

The HälsingeHambo (www.halsingehambon.se), that takes place in July every year, is one of the oldest dance competitions in Sweden. From the start in 1965 the number of participants increased to a record 1500 pairs of dancers during the seventies.

Today there are about 300 pairs of dancers, but the HälsingeHambo is still a big folk festival which attracts crowds of dancers, musicians, artists and thousands of dance and music lovers.

Every year one dancing pair and one dancing team win the competition, and thereafter second and third places are chosen. Dancers from all over Scandinavia and from the USA participate and many return year after year. The reason is maybe not so much to win but to enjoy the great atmosphere and the many other events that surround the festival. A lot of dancers and the public stay for a few days to experience the whole festival.

The HälsingeHambo is very special because it is danced in four stages, close to the river Ljusnan - in Hårga and Bollnäs.