Happy Summer Solstice!

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Whether you just appreciate the longest day of the year or find this a day of spiritual significance, hope you enjoyed it.

I went on a trail that hugged the beach - lots of great pics and vids I'll try and upload in the next day or two!
 
Here is some traditional Midsummer Celebration, courtesy of old Moder Svea.

Midsummer
In mid-June, school is out and nature has burst into life. It seems like the sun never sets. In fact, in the north of Sweden it doesn’t, and in the south only for an hour or two. This calls for celebration! Friends and family gather for the most typically Swedish tradition of all: Midsummer.

The start of summer holidays
Swedes are fairly well attuned to the rhythms of nature. At Midsummer, many begin their five-week annual holidays and everyone is in a hurry to get things done during the relatively short summer season. Midsummer Eve is celebrated in the countryside − as always − and on the day before, everyone leaves town, everything closes and the city streets are suddenly spookily deserted.

The country’s main thoroughfares, on the other hand, are packed. Queues of cars stretch away into the distance, and at the end of the road, family and friends wait among silver birches in full, shimmering bloom.

Maypoles and dancing
Midsummer is an occasion of large gatherings − and to be honest, many Swedes take advantage of it to fulfil their social obligations so that they can enjoy the rest of their holiday in peace. In many cases, whole families gather to celebrate this traditional high-point of the summer.

Swedes like the world to be well-ordered, so Midsummer Eve is always a Friday between 19 and 25 June. People often begin the day by picking flowers and making wreaths to place on the maypole, which is a key component in the celebrations.

The maypole is raised in an open spot and traditional ring-dances ensue, to the delight of the children and some of the adults. Teenagers tend to stay out of it and wait for the evening’s more riotous entertainment.

Herring and boiled new potatoes
A typical Midsummer menu features different kinds of pickled herring, boiled new potatoes with fresh dill, soured cream and chives. This is often followed by a grilled dish of some kind, such as spare rib or salmon, and for dessert the first strawberries of summer, with cream.

The traditional accompaniment is a cold beer and schnapps, preferably spiced. Every time the glasses are refilled, singing breaks out anew. Swedes like drinking songs, and the racier the better.

Midsummer is an occasion invested with a certain nostalgia. Deep inside, Swedes are all agreed on what it should look like and how it should proceed. So after dinner, many people still want to go out dancing, just like in the old days. Preferably on an outdoor dance floor beside a lake as the evening mist settles and the sound of the orchestra echoes back from the rocky hills on the opposite shore.

Mysterious Midsummer
On their way home, girls and young women are supposed to pick seven different species of flowers and lay them under their pillows. At night, their future husbands appear to them in a dream.

Legend has it that the night before Midsummer’s Day is a magical time for love. It still is, in a way. During this night many a relationship is put to the test. Under the influence of alcohol, the truth will out, which can lead both to marriage and to divorce.

Like Whitsun, Midsummer is a popular time of year for weddings and christening ceremonies. Despite their poor showing as churchgoers, Swedes still like to wed in a country church with a flower-bedecked, arched entrance and beautiful hymns.

Swedish Midsummer for Dummies


The famous/infamous "frog-dance" in the earlier video, and other silliness, is for the kids more than anything. They love seeing their parents, and other grownups, jump around like crazy once a year. :)
The more "serious" dancing around the maypole is done to tunes like this.>>


Happy, belated, midsummer to y'all. o/¨ :)

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Whether you just appreciate the longest day of the year or find this a day of spiritual significance, hope you enjoyed it.

I went on a trail that hugged the beach - lots of great pics and vids I'll try and upload in the next day or two!
Spare a thought for the other hemisphere. We just had our shortest day :(
 
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