Midsummer Party

Midsummer Day was originally celebrated on 24 June to commemorate John the Baptist. About 50 years ago, it was moved to the nearest Saturday. The celebrations however take place the day before, Midsummer Eve, this year on Friday 22 June.

In agrarian times, Midsummer celebrations in Sweden were held to welcome summertime and the season of fertility. In some areas, therefore, people dressed up as ‘green men’, clad in ferns. They also decorated their houses and farm tools with foliage, and raised tall, leafy maypoles to dance around, probably as early as the 16th century and modeled on a German tradition.

It was not until the 20th century, however, that this became the most Swedish of all traditional festivities.

Text and information from: http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/CommonPage____11366.aspx

We celebrated Midsummer Eve at Pelle’s, our friend’s summer house outside of Örebro. Since it is such an important holiday for all Swedes and the celebrations take place outdoors, everybody wants it to be a lovely sunny summer day. It didn’t happen this year!!!! It was a grey and rainy day but that didn’t stop us from having great fun. Pelle put up his party tent and from time to time when the rain stopped we played cricket ball and an outdoor quiz where you were supposed to find questions printed on paper somewhere in the garden or on the street. The food we ate was delicious and typical as it should be at Midsummer Eve. For lunch we had different kinds of pickled herring (I love that stuff), boiled fresh potatoes with fresh dill and soured cream. For dinner we had a delicious barbecue with different kinds of meat and fish, I had salmon. Yummy!!! As dessert we had a mouth-watering chocolate cake (thanks to Carola, Stefan’s girl-friend) with fresh strawberries and cream.

The traditional beverages are cold beer and schnapps, preferably spiced. For every time the schnapps glasses are refilled, singing breaks out. Swedes love drinking songs!!!!

We had a great time!!! Thank you, Pelle!!!

Love,

Sabrina and Fredrik

PS: Jätte tack ochså till alla som var med på festen!!!!!