Sweden

50
Sweden – a pocket guide
midsommar:
Holiday including
Midsummer Eve,
Midsummer Day
and the following
Sunday.
Around 21 June, it is time for Midsummer, midsommar*.
For most Swedes, Midsummer means a party to celebrate
the summer with dancing round the maypole. Summer is
important in this relatively dark, cold country. Midsummer,
then, is a major holiday, and if it rains on Midsummer Eve
everyone who wanted to celebrate outdoors is disappointed.
In most towns there is a public Midsummer celebration
in the town square, sports field or community centre. In
the morning, many people like to go out and pick flowers
and leaves to decorate the maypole, midsommarstången.
Maypoles are different in different regions. In Dalarna,
which organises the country’s most renowned Midsummer
celebrations, the same pole is often used year after year, and
the pole, with its withered decorations, is left standing until
it’s time to decorate it again next Midsummer. Once the
maypole is decorated it must be raised, often by a few
strong men to a chorus of lusty cheers, and during the
The maypole is
raised and the
dancing begins.
If the rain stays
away and the sun
shines, the party
will be a real
success.
Photo: Bengt Arne Ignell / REDAKTA
Swedes
and traditions