Midsommar

Midsummer

Midsummer Eve is celebrated in the countryside, as always, and on the day before, everyone leaves town, everything closes and the 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. People often begin midsummer 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.

Typical Midsummer menu features different kinds of pickled herring, boiled new potatoes with fresh dill, soured cream and raw red onion. 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. After dinner, many people 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. 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.

For more information see www.sweden.se

Turistbyrån | Evenemang | Nyhetsbrev

The Right of Public Access

You rely on the Right of Public Access whenever you go out in the Swedish countryside - whether it is to take a walk, go kayaking, climb a mountain or just sit down on a rock to think.