Stories about Grand Children

The Swedish Midsummer.

Tomorrow it is Midsummer´s Eve.
Maybe you haven´t heard about that
special Scandianavian holiday weekend.
After Christmas this is the biggest
holiday up here in the north.
Midsummer is an old pagan celebration,
dating back to the Vikings.
It was celibrated in the hope that this
would help to give a good harvest in the autumn.

Nowadays Midsummer is a national holiday.
Family and friends meet,
eat herring and fresh potatoes
and have schnapps and beer
before, to and after meal.
The actual day of the celebration is also
the longest day of the year (summer solstice),
signifying that summer has reached the half-way point.
Midsummer Day is celebrated on the Saturday
between June 20 - 26.
This year - 2005 - it is celebrated June 25.
Midsummer´s Eve is always on a Friday,
so we get a long weekend.
Well, we need it to get back to normal,after.
Since Scandinavia is cold and dark most of
the year, we are behaving really nuts to
an outstander.Trust me!

 

To start with, it is a family weekend.
We get together early in the afternoon,
and we are supposed to be outdoors,
no matter what.
Since the weather can´t be trusted, it is
normal that we in the middle of eating,
have to carry it all inside again.
Most of the time the reason for that is heavy showers,
but also the invation of mosquitos this time of the year.

Before we can eat there is alot of activities going on.
First we are picking as many flowers as possible to
decorate the May pole.
The customs around Midsummer are many and very old.
The May pole is still risen everywhere in Sweden and people

Having a nice time together until early morning.
with traditional food, drinks and games.
My grandkids are counting the hours.They will give Grandpa
a hard time,trying to beat him in the various games.
Eating herring and fresh potatoes and with lots of schnapps and beer!
With the first fresh strawberries with cream as dessert.

Many families leaves to spend the weekend on a camping,
in their trailers or in a cottage.
One way or another most of us are not in our own homes.
Young people are the worst campers, in tents!
That is the dark side of Midsummer.To much to drink!
A growing problem from year to year since they
more or less invades the small villages in the coustline.

The following is from a Swedish schoolbook.
"In folklore there are many ideas about the Midsummer Night.
The Midsummer night is the night of the great and the hidden powers.
Everything is filled with power: the dew, the flowers, the twigs of the trees,
the water in the springs.
Dew can heal sickness, the leaven gets better with drops of the dew
of Midsummer night.
Leaves can be used as dressing bandage and you can take away pain
if you have some night leaves from the birches in your bath."

More info:
"A wreath or a bouquet with seven or nine (the traditions vary) is full of power.
But you must pick the flowers all alone and in total silence.
One flower from the churchyard increases the power even more.
The ready bound wreath you may hang in the ceiling and let it remain there
until it is time for the Christmas straw wreath.
Your house will stay happy and healthy.
A pair of young birches around the porch make happiness into the house,
a twig of birch in the cornfield gives better harvest.
And for all young girls (this is still being done)
Put the bouquet of flowers under your pillow.That will make you dream
of your future husband, and even better,

 

To all of you I wish - En Glad Midsommar! (Happy Midsummer!)
I am off to celebrate with my big family.
I will have the mosquito bites to show the day after!

 

Grandma Maggie

Homepage http://grandmamaggie.com/

Blog - Facts from Grandma Maggie http://grandmamaggiefacts.blogspot.com/