When Swedes arrived to the American West, Utah specifically, they encountered an environment unlike they'd ever experienced. Not only did many have traumatizing journeys over land and sea, but the land itself was different. There were no longer beautiful coasts, thick forests, and long-established civilization (Utah has some beautiful forests but many are less accessible than those in Sweden).
Fresh fruit and inaccessible goods were hard to come by before the railway arrived in Utah in 1869. Even still, fresh food from other places wasn't something that could be easily transferred. Many people mail-ordered canned herring from Norway Pacific Fish Company in Seattle. American holidays bookended Midsummer and gave a Scandinavian Utahan a very busy schedule.
May 11 - Scandinavian Mission Day-a celebration of the first Mormon missionaries in Denmark
May 17 - Seventeenth of May - a celebration for the signing of the Norway constitution
May 30 - Decoration Day - a precursor to Memorial Day filled with decorating Civil War soldiers' graves
June 5 - Danish Constitution Day - a celebration of the signing of the Danish constitution with church services, flag raising, local political/celebrity speeches
Around June 24 - Midsummer - a celebration of the longest day of the year with dancing, eating, and drinking all while outside
July 4 - American Independence Day
July 24 - Pioneer Day - a celebration to honor the courage of early pioneers filled with games, music, parades, rodeos, and picnics
Today, a Utahan Midsummer has the same bones- flowers, maypoles, and lots of food and dancing. The menu consists of flavored herring, red beet salad, hard bread, lingonberry jam, rice pudding, boiled potatoes, and scalloped potatoes with the skins semi taken off. Due to the religious practices of Mormons, there is no alcohol consumed.
Fresh fruit and inaccessible goods were hard to come by before the railway arrived in Utah in 1869. Even still, fresh food from other places wasn't something that could be easily transferred. Many people mail-ordered canned herring from Norway Pacific Fish Company in Seattle. American holidays bookended Midsummer and gave a Scandinavian Utahan a very busy schedule.
May 11 - Scandinavian Mission Day-a celebration of the first Mormon missionaries in Denmark
May 17 - Seventeenth of May - a celebration for the signing of the Norway constitution
May 30 - Decoration Day - a precursor to Memorial Day filled with decorating Civil War soldiers' graves
June 5 - Danish Constitution Day - a celebration of the signing of the Danish constitution with church services, flag raising, local political/celebrity speeches
Around June 24 - Midsummer - a celebration of the longest day of the year with dancing, eating, and drinking all while outside
July 4 - American Independence Day
July 24 - Pioneer Day - a celebration to honor the courage of early pioneers filled with games, music, parades, rodeos, and picnics
Today, a Utahan Midsummer has the same bones- flowers, maypoles, and lots of food and dancing. The menu consists of flavored herring, red beet salad, hard bread, lingonberry jam, rice pudding, boiled potatoes, and scalloped potatoes with the skins semi taken off. Due to the religious practices of Mormons, there is no alcohol consumed.