In a few days it is time for one of the most important nights this year, Vinterbalen. Maybe you are, like me, attending for the first time and have a million questions and expectations. Like, what is the deal with medals? How can I do my hair? Can I wear my winter jacket? Don’t worry, Nådiga Lundtan has all the answers.
We all know that many wear medals when attending a ball, but maybe you do not know why or what exactly a medal is. To sort out all the questions just in time for Vinterbalen we met with one that sure knows a lot about medals. He possesses 39, soon to be 42, medals and attended 18(!) balls last year. We have spoken to Marcus Morey who will guide you through the medal-hype.
First, what is a medal? Why do you get them?
You get a medal when you are a member of an order or active in a nation or student union. You can receive medals in different ways. Every ball in Lund has an own medal for participants, and every nation and student union arrange a ball every year. It is also common that student unions and nations have their own medals that you receive if you are active. LundaEkonomerna for example has Astroorden for the active members. There are also different degrees of the medals depending on which position you have.
The medals are often used at balls, but can also be worn when attending some bigger events and parties. In other words, if the King were to visit or if there was a Nobel Party, you can also wear these then, although you can only wear your official medals at these occasions.
You get medals from orders, but what exactly is an order?
An order is a company that you get invited to if you meet certain criteria’s. New members are welcomed to the order at an initiation that takes place one or two times a year. You can create an order yourself, but the big ones are often very old. There are also secret orders and it is often a lot of rumors about these and people talk a lot about them. There are a lot of orders within Studentlund and it is a great way to meet new people.
Besides medals you also have pins, what is a pin?
You get pins when you are representing your union, nation. Something that is common at sittings in Lund is to exchange pins with each other. Then you can get pins from other nations or unions that you are not a member in.
Which medals does Lundaekonomerna have?
The first medal is Vinterbalen. The medal for Vinterbalen is a snowflake and everyone who attends the dinner receive the medal, and they come in different degrees. There is bronze, silver and gold medals and they represent how many times you have attended Vinterbalen. So the first time you will get a bronze medal and the next year silver and then the third year you receive the gold medal.
The second medal is Astroordens medal that you receive when you are an active member within Lundaekonomerna and you are initiated into the order. During the initiation all new members are supposed to complete an assignment to receive their medal. There are different medals depending if you have a position of trust or if you are an active member. The positions of trust medal are shaped like a cross and looks different for the board and the project leaders. The project leaders get a comet in the middle, if you have a part time position in the board it is a moon, full timers have a star, and then the president have a sun in the middle.
The next medal is the jubilee medal for when Lundaekonomerna celebrated 20 years in 2015. For now, there is only one jubilee medal but there will be another at the 25 years celebration. The last medal is also an Astro medal, it was made for the Astrogala last spring but will not appear again within the union.
And last, the committees often create their one medals for the committee members. Then you often gather before Vinterbalen or Astrogalan and have a lunch or just hang out and hand out the medals to the new members.
Now we have sorted out what function a medal actually fills, but of course there are more to it than this. There are special ways to wear them and there are ways to collect many of them.
So, how do you wear the medals? Are there any rules you are supposed to follow?
Yes, you should always wear the medals on the same side as the heart under the breast pocket and you are not allowed to wear a handkerchief when you wear medals. You are only allowed to wear medals on the left side. In Lund the tradition is to wear all your medals but there is also common that you just wear a few of them. For example, to only wear LundaEkonomernas medals on their balls or events.
Girls are also supposed to wear their medals on the left side and close to the heart. They have a bandeau often folded as a bow. You pick out your three favorite or most appropriate medals and have one pin. It is standard to only wear three medals, but you can have more if you like.
Do you have a favorite medal? How did you get it, maybe some story behind it?
Hhmm.. Yes, one of the favorites are from Malmö nation jubilee ball. It was one of my first sittings in Lund and I went with my sister who showed me how to act at a ball. It was very good entertainment during the evening and a genuine great evening.
The medal from Lund University’s 350 jubilee is also very special. It is my only official medal which means that I can wear it on more solemn occasions.
Can you give some general tips regarding medals?
If you want many medals the best tip is to engage in the student life as much as possible. Then you are invited to many balls and events where you can receive medals. It is hard to gather medals if you do not attend balls or if you not are a member in a nation or student union. You can create your own orders or medals, but it is of course more fun and rewarding to be a part of a big order. Also, take care of the medals that you do have and do not lose them. If you would lose a medal it can be very hard to get a new one. So, the most important tip I can give you is to be careful and take them of before the afterparty so you don’t drop them and they find a new owner on the dancefloor.
Now hopefully you are an expert on medals and how to wear them, so let’s move on to some style tips so you can look your best on Saturday. But I am not an expert on fashion or style, so to get some help I talked to Paulina Forsberg who work at Metromode and has been the assistant for Petra Tungården.
Since it is winter you must wear warmer clothes, how can you wear warm jackets without ruin your outfit?
A shorter jacket would fit best with a long dress! But do not focus too much on the jacket and outdoor clothing, hopefully you will take it of fast!
What shoes can you wear that fits to a ball-dress?
Put on your best party heels! The ones you know you can dance in a whole night, there is nothing worse than being forced to sit down because your feet are hurting. Besides, since you will be wearing a long dress that maybe covers your feet you do not need to worry that much about your shoes.
What colors are trending right now? What colors on dresses or bows are suitable to have?
Green and blue tones is very popular right now, also warmer tones such as red and purple. But it is more important to wear the colors that you feel comfortable in and not just follow the trend. Glitter and sequin is also pretty, and a real mood riser!
Do you have any tips on simple but beautiful hairstyles you can make on your own?
Wow, hard! Hairstyles is unfortunately not my specialty… But if you have a quite simple dress I would put more energy on the hair, maybe curly or a hair do. Braids in all forms are also super nice!
What accessories is suitable for a ball?
Mainly earrings can highlight an entire outfit, but jewelry overall is suitable to wear. Also put some more effort in your makeup! I think a night like this is a terrific opportunity to go overboard, don’t be discreet if you don’t want to! Most important is that you are comfortable in your outfit and accessories!
Hopefully, this have helped you sort out some of your questions for Vinterbalen. I am very excited and hope to see you there to make Vinterbalen an unforgettable night together!
Photos by Erika Larsson
