Dala Horse The Good Luck Symbol in Swedish Culture

“What’s that?” Fafa asked, pointing at the painted wooden horse figure sitting on top of the drawer ━ “It’s a Dala horse, a Swedish symbol of good luck”, I replied. “You will buy anything as long as they slap a good-luck tag on it”, he complained. He is right, though; I am forever intrigued by luck and happiness. But the Dala horse, a souvenir I got for myself during the Scandinavian trip, is much more than that.

Dala Horse The Symbol of Sweden

Arguably the most famous symbol of Sweden (it even spilled over to souvenir stores in Denmark), the Dalahast or Dala horse, is internationally recognized Swedish folk art.

Once a by-product of a local furniture-making business sold as a toy and later even as a barter item, these carved wooden figurines have been ingrained into Swedish culture for centuries.

Many stories accompany the Dala horse, from Paganism and witchcraft to Vikings. The horse was considered a status symbol and a highly valued property in the Swedish household.

These days Dala horse is a traditional gift in Sweden for any life celebration, including weddings and graduations. Some even treat the much-loved Swedish souvenir as a collector’s item. I get it; it’s beautiful and intricate, with meaningful symbolism to start a collection on.

So yeah, with so much story and history behind it, how could I not bring one back? Heck, I still regret not buying another one for my Appa.

Kurbits Painting

Most Dala horses I saw in Stockholm are decorated in the Kurbits style. On the horse, its Kurbits painting is usually shown in the flower-patterned saddle. However, this hasn’t always been the case. Traditionally these horses are painted in red or even left as is without paint. Still, in the 1830s, Swedish artist StikÃ¥ Erik Hansson became known for painting his unique Dala horses with a two-colour simplified form of Kurbits decoration. Hansson’s Dala horse pattern has since become the tradition for Dala horse-making in Sweden.

My Dalahast

The horse I got from Sweden was also decorated in Kurbits painting. So I named my Dala horse Gunilo ━ as a homage to its’ painter, a talented artist named Rosmalaren Gunilla Bergman Soini, whose signature is stamped on the horse’s body to show its authenticity.

Born and raised in Dala-Floda, Dalarna. She has been painting Kurbits since even before I was born. Talk about passion! She is also s a trained furniture carpenter and a tailor—# FanGirl.

The storekeeper in the Stockholm Old Town, where I got my Dalahast, told me there is a meaning behind each Dala Horse colour. Red (passion and energy) is the most famous one, much like the dark red paint covering most of the Swedish countryside houses.

The orange colour represents happiness.

Meanwhile, like the one I got, black symbolizes strength and power. So it seems fitting, though I picked it before knowing about this because I was drawn to it the minute I saw it.

When you want to bring back a piece of Swedish culture as a souvenir from Sweden, look no further than the beautifully painted wooden Dala horse. I even added visiting Dalarna to see it making into my World Culture Wonder List.

Dala Horse Equivalent and Other Cultures

If you don’t like a horse, you can get other farm animals, such as roosters or pigs.

Also, a wooden Dala horse is not cheap. I got mine for 650SEK, which is around 100AUD. I can’t remember the last time I bought a “toy” for that price.

All this research on the Dala horse made me wonder whether it has an equivalent in other cultures. Unfortunately, I can only think of the Japanese Daruma, Danish Hoptimist and Russian Matryoshka dolls.

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