HOW TO CELEBRATE MIDSUMMER | Romantic Swedish Summer Tradition

Midsummer is a magical holiday that is being celebrated in the northern part of Europe and one of the most popular holiday next to Christmas. It is during the Summer Solstice, which means that it is the longest day of the year, as well as the shortest night. If you are fortunate enough to visit Sweden during this time of the year you might stumble upon a lot of whimsical traditions that is being done as if it is the most natural thing in the world, and for us growing up with this, IT IS! Let me teach you how to celebrate Midsommar like a Swede!

Our guide for a perfect midsummer

FLOWER CROWNS – This romantic holiday made into a little crown

Children and sometimes adults are making their own flower crowns, wildflowers are abundant and gathers and bound together to create unique and beautiful “Midsommarkrans“.
The tradition stems from the belief that during the midsummer night, if you haven’t met your special one yet, you can in silence go and pick 7 different kinds of flowers, put them under your pillow and dream about the someone you are going to marry.

FOLK OUTFITS & MUSIC – Nothing says countryside escape as folk music

A lot of people are getting dressed up in their traditional folk outfits, they look different for each county but have beautiful colors in common. You don’t have to dress up but it’s a great chance to represent the area of Sweden your family comes from.

It is like a “Christmas Eve” for the folk musicians that are gathering to play the traditional folk songs for everyone’s excitement. This is huge especially in Dalarna, which I would say is the capital of traditional folk music and one of the most popular places for tourists to visit for midsummer. (Follow “Visit Dalarna” on Facebook.)

MAYPOLE DANCING

The most significant sign that Midsummer is here is that you will see a lot of Maypoles being raised everywhere throughout the country, most commonly at town center’s and community parks. The most common and basic design is simply two poles creating a cross, with two wreaths hanging on each side. The decorations are made with green leaves and flowers of all sorts. The creative thing with these May-poles is that despite the simple design, every little village or town has its own flair. There is an endless variation of them depending on where in the country you are. There are no specific sizes you have to follow, but a flagpole makes for a good base since it’s already secured in the ground. But smaller ones, shorter than yourself, can as well be raised in your own garden.

At every town’s celebration it’s part of the fun to watch the men of the community raise the “midsommarstång” and after a few nail biting minutes to make sure it’s securely in the ground, the crown cheers and begins the dancing! Everyone joins hands and dances around the pole singing children’s type songs such as “Morsgrisar är vi allihopa” (we are all mama’s boys/girls), “Raketen” (the rocket), and finished with the classic “Små grodorna” where young and old hop around the pole like little frogs.

Fun Fact: The Maypoles are of German origin since they used to raise them during May 1st, to celebrate the growing season. In Sweden it would still be too cold to grow things that early, but perfect for Midsummer.

FOOD & DRINK

After the dancing and music, most families and friends will go to a summer cabin or sit outside in the garden for a special holiday meal. Midsummer has its own traditional dishes. As an example, you’ll find a lot of different fish. Herring is the most common, but also salmon. Served with potatoes, dill, eggs, and different pies. For dessert, strawberries (the more the merrier) topped with whipped cream. Or perhaps baked as a cake followed with coffee of course. Or schnapps sung with traditional drinking songs.

FOLKLORE TRADITIONS

Back in the old days, it was very common to save the midsummer crowns and use them in the traditional Christmas bath. The tradition claimed that the dried flowers would give you some extra strength to endure the rest of the dark winter.

Another old tradition that I can’t help giggling about is that many farmers ran outside during the midsummer morning and rolled around in the morning dew. This was said to keep them healthy during the rest of the year. The amount of quirky and special traditions like these seems to be as many as there are old farms, cause it seems that is where they once came from.

If the peculiar traditions worked or not I think is of less importance. As you know, one can eat all the vitamins in the alphabet and still catch the flu at some point. If the actual tradition, in a fun way, brought you together with your loved ones, if just for a day, why not just roll around in all the dew you can find, bath with the old dried up wreath, and just be happy. What other days of the year is suitable for it if not Midsummer, a day and night of magic in the air and feeling young at heart.

If you did not grow up with this tradition I hope that you someday are able to celebrate Midsummer or at least take some of these traditions into your own summer solstice festivities. Please give us a comment on what your quirky traditions would be?

HAPPY MIDSUMMER – Bye for now & Hej då allihopa!

-Jonas & Lindsay Dianne