Swedish Midsummer - A lovely tradition

Swedish Twins (daughters of host) before Midsummer festivities

Last Friday, my family celebrated Midsummer in Sweden. It was a beautiful day with a 20C (70F) temperature. It is one of my favorite times of the year although the weather doesn't always cooperate. In 2004, we couldn't even leave the house as it rained the entire day!

What I love about the tradition is the great food (herring), drinks (shots of snaps) picking flowers, singing/dancing and spending quality time with family and good friends. It seems to be a moment where people embrace the beauty of nature and forget (if only temporarily) about the struggles of life.

In addition, you can find many of these celebrations in America where Swedes are plentiful like Minnesota or Manhattan.

If you ever get a chance to experience Sweden in late June, make sure to go to one of the thousands of celebrations in this vast county.

Below is some insight about Midsummer from The Local (Swedish news in English). You can click on the link for the full article.

Enjoy your summer! When possible, remember to carpool or take a bus/train during you summer vacation as this will help the environment immensely.

Happy Gswede Sunday!

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Midsommar is just about as Swedish as it gets. Rain, shine, snow or full blown blizzard, Swedes always herald the beauty of Swedish nature even if they need to huddle shivering under dripping tree branches. Nothing gets between a Swede and her exuberance in the glory of Sweden a-grow in green.

The place to find these nature loving Swedes is anywhere but in the city. Swedes head to their holiday homes or cast anchor and sail to a crowded cove. As a result, the streets are eerily empty, and if you have the rare experience of driving to the big city and searching for that normally elusive parking spot, you are in for a once-a-year opportunity of having the pick of the prime spots—all of them.

Historically, Midsommar is the celebration of the summer solstice. In true Swedish pragmatic tradition, Midsummer’s Day is these days marked on the Saturday that falls between 20 and 26 June. As with all Swedish tradition, it’s the eve that brings on the festivities.(http://www.thelocal.se/4134/20060621/)

Our small Midsummer celebration