What: one of the most important holidays in Sweden
Where: all over Sweden, but it has to be outside in nature
When: June 24th
Who: many European countries have their own summer solstice traditions, but Sweden's Midsommar is unique
On Midsommar Eve, folks gather blue, yellow, and white flowers for their maypole. Before bed, young girls will venture into the meadows and retrieve seven different flowers, place them under their pillows, and dream of the person they will marry. The next morning, the maypole is being decorated with flowers and greenery by 9 am and women make flower crowns for their hair. Each region, village, and parish of Sweden has it's own specific folk wear and people wear them for this holiday. Married women will wear bonnets. At lunch, people eat pickled herring, boiled potatoes with dill, baked salmon, moose, strawberries with cream or lingonberry jam, gravlax, strawberry cake and snaps (strong liquor flavored with wormwood, St. John's wort, bog-myrtle, or blackcurrant-- when it's flavored with dill or caraway seeds, it it called aquavit).
The evening of Midsommar is filled with dancing and folk songs.
Below is a traditional Swedish song about Midsommar with an English translation:
Where: all over Sweden, but it has to be outside in nature
When: June 24th
Who: many European countries have their own summer solstice traditions, but Sweden's Midsommar is unique
On Midsommar Eve, folks gather blue, yellow, and white flowers for their maypole. Before bed, young girls will venture into the meadows and retrieve seven different flowers, place them under their pillows, and dream of the person they will marry. The next morning, the maypole is being decorated with flowers and greenery by 9 am and women make flower crowns for their hair. Each region, village, and parish of Sweden has it's own specific folk wear and people wear them for this holiday. Married women will wear bonnets. At lunch, people eat pickled herring, boiled potatoes with dill, baked salmon, moose, strawberries with cream or lingonberry jam, gravlax, strawberry cake and snaps (strong liquor flavored with wormwood, St. John's wort, bog-myrtle, or blackcurrant-- when it's flavored with dill or caraway seeds, it it called aquavit).
The evening of Midsommar is filled with dancing and folk songs.
Below is a traditional Swedish song about Midsommar with an English translation: