The Sound Of Midsummer

Yesterday the Swedes celebrated one of our most Swedish traditions, the midsummer. A tradition that goes back to before Jesus time. Me, my mum and dad spent it this year at Skansen open air museum, which is one of my very favorite places in Stockholm. We got there around 11.am and we had a look around in the old houses before we sat down and ate the sandwiches we brought. After that I decided to make a garland of flowers to put in my hair. They actually offered these stands where you got help with making real nice and professional garlands but the line for it was way too long so I decided to make my own, less fancy garland made of Ox-eye daises instead. I wasn't completely pleased with the result but it would have to do. Then we had a look around the park. Skansen is both an open air museum and a Zoo, but are mainly having animals you can find here in Scandinavia. If you want to see the more exotic animals you'd have to pay extra to enter an aquarium building where these are kept, but this time we skipped that. So I walked around the park photographing animals and houses until it was time to head for the rising of the maypole around 2.pm. It was crazy how many people had gathered there, my estimation would be over a thousand, which made it quite hard for me to see anything and even harder to get that good pictures (I tried though). I didn't do any dancing as there were too many people and I felt rather quick that I wanted to get out of the crowd and instead I bought soft ice cream with chocolate sprinkle and sat enjoying the sun. We topped it off by looking in a couple of shops before we headed back home, pleased with the day. My arms got really burned during the day, not really hurting unless I touch them but still. I got such sensitive skin and really need to be more careful.

So what is midsummer? It's a celebration celebrated at the summer solstice, when the day is the longest and the night the shortest. In the very north the sun doesn't even set at all during this time so there's daylight during the whole night. There are different ways to celebrate midsummer around the Scandinavian countries but the Swedish way is that we are dancing around a big maypole - a pole that's been decorated with leaves and flowers. You gather in rings around the maypole and dance around it in a big ringdance while singing old folk songs, usually ones that have a playful ring to them. The maypole is in fact stolen from the Germans though, probably sometime during the 14th or 15th century.  It's also very common to make a garland of flowers and wear it on your head. All this to celebrate the longest day of the year. The usual dish during the midsummer in Sweden is soused herring, sour cream, chives, potatoes often served with dill and for dessert strawberries, lots of strawberries. Snaps, beer and other alcohol drinks are often served. The midsummer weekend is in fact one of the the weekends of the year when the Swedes consume most alcohol. Of course there are also none alcohol alternatives such as normal soda, must (pressed juice from berries that's been stopped from fermentation) or alcoholfree cider. The midsummer night also have a page full of believes of supernatural creatures and prophecies to it. Folklores are saying that you should watch out with bathing outdoors cause "Näcken" might take you. "Näcken" being a supernatural creature in form of a man playing a violin sitting naked on a stone in the river. He's said to enchants young women with his beautiful music making them walk into the river and drown. Young unmarried women are also supposed to pick seven or nine different kinds of flowers, in seven or nice different gardens and put these under the pillow when they go to bed on midsummer and in their dream that night they will see the face of their future husband. Also the midsummer dew would contain supernatural powers. People would roll in it naked and that way they thought they would be protected from illnesses during the whole year.

Here are a few photos from the midsummer celebration 2012.

I may also point out that midsummer without my sister who's currently with her boyfriend in The Netherlands is not the same. Next year we need to do midsummer together again! 

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this post. Now i'll just sit back and talk some more to my boyfriend. Have a nice evening! 

Love, Kristina