Midsummer

Midsummer - a holiday that almost every Swede celebrates. Many are free from work and almost everyone - is in total control of what the weather will be during the holiday. Will it be sunny? Can we sit outside? Will it rain?

It's time for Swedish midsummer celebration. For at least one week, many people have planned and been thinking and shopping food, but -- It seems to be inside, this year again -- Midsummer is celebrated around the time of summer solstice. This is the longest day of the whole year. From now on, the evenings will be darker again. It's opposite during winter time is called - winter solstice.

From the start, midsummer was celebrated in honor of John the Baptist. He is said to have been born on the 24th of June, and thus, midsummer eve, was the night before, the 23d of June. In the middle of the 20th century, the celebration was adapted to fit better into an ordinary working week. Nowadays, midsummer eve is always celebrated on a Friday, some time between the 20th and the 26th of June. The weekend of Midsummer consists of midsummer eve and midsummer day, which is a day off from work, a red day.

Generally speaking - everyone celebrates midsummer. A successful midsummer is one, when you have been able to celebrate outside. What you normally do during a midsummer celebration is see friends - and eat -- -- even if, like today it seems to be inside. While it rains, let's take a look at the food that's eaten during midsummer. As with many other holidays in Sweden, food is important.

You eat pickled herring, with sour cream and chives, fresh potatoes, (that is, potatoes that have just been harvested). Smoked salmon, gravlax, and more pickled herring of a different kind. And of course, you barbecue. Unless it rains of course. Or, you barbecue anyway -- And - most important - strawberries!

Now it seems as if the rain clouds have disappeared. Then maybe it's time to take care of the maypole. It is common to decorate - "löva" and "pynta" a maypole. Even though it is called a maypole, it has nothing to do with the month of May. This refers to an old word called "maja".

That means "löva", decorating with leaves. After this, everybody helps out raising the maypole. It is perfectly alright to use an ordinary flag pole. That's it! The real midsummer enthusiasts might dress up in folk costumes.

A folk costume is some articles of clothing that you wear if you come from a certain area, perhaps a village. The outfit that Maria and her family is wearing is called the Sweden costume. If you are invited to a first-rate dinner, for example the Nobel dinner -- -- and the invitation says "formal dress"... -- you can wear a folk costume if you like. If you don't arrange your own celebration, you can visit an organised midsummer celebration. These, you often find outside the cities, in the countryside.

In many places, you'll find several houses in a group, that you sort of own together and can use. This is a community center or a folk museum. During midsummer, people gather there. Musicians arrive and play folk music, you can buy hot dogs, there might be a lottery - and of course - a maypole to dance around. The instrument that Seamus is playing, is called "nyckelharpa" and it's a very old string instrument.

Oh, yes, we are about to dance around the maypole. One common dance is called "Små grodorna" - The Little froggies. This, "the little froggies" is quite well-known around the world. The melody is originally from France. French soldiers sang it during the time of the French revolution.

Oh it's starting! If you have grown up, dancing "the little froggies", you don't find this peculiar. This is the way it is performed. But these tourists, really don't know where to look -- Oh, the weather today seems very midsummer-like -- Midsummer night is considered somewhat mystical. It is so mystical that the English playwright William Shakespeare even wrote a play about it. "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

It is a comedy about love, jealousy and sadness and takes place on Midsummer night. In Sweden, it is said that if you walk out while being completely silent - into a meadow on Midsummer night, and pick 7 or 9 different kinds of flowers and put them under your pillow - you will dream about your future love. Ah, here comes the rain again --