TELL ME ALL ABOUT MIDSUMMER
Nowhere takes the summer solstice quite as seriously as the Nordics; for this collection of countries it’s an occasion to get in touch with nature, light a fire, and dance the night away in flower crowns.
PART 1: ALL ABOUT MIDSUMMER
Midsummer festivals have been held close to the date of summer solstice all over the world for centuries. But today it’s the Nordics that are most observant of the holiday, with Sweden and Finland going as far as to tie it closely to their cultural identity.
And so, when it came to creating our new five-course Nordic experience for Eldr, we started with produce and the commitment to source only the best ingredients from exceptional farmers and expert foragers. That’s why the menu will be an ever evolving one, depending on what’s fresh and in season.
Despite the ancient festival being renamed the Feast of St. John in the Middle Ages, the celebration remains distinctly pagan. From shooing away evil spirits over a bonfire to lacing pillows with flowers, each of the Nordic countries take the time every year to celebrate the longest day of the year through a variety of rituals. So how can you celebrate like the Nordics this June?
1. LIGHT A BONFIRE
In Finland, Norway and Denmark, the central theme is gathering around an open fire. The habit was borne from the belief that lighting a fire, along with making lots of noise, during the summer solstice chased away evil spirits and led to a good harvest. Today it has largely become a celebration of lighter days for countries that see long hours of darkness during the winter. Locals gather at a communal fire for food and drinks, partying through the near 24 hours of daylight with beer and flavoured schnapps.
2. FLOWER CROWNS & MAYPOLES
Across the Nordics, retreating into and connecting with the natural environment is a unifying theme. But it’s in the Swedish countryside that the festival remains the most steeped in nature and ritual, which can be seen by the prolific use of flowers to celebrate the day. Kids and adults alike craft their own crowns, or krans, from fresh flowers. Maypoles are erected across gardens and parks, adorned with freshly picked spring flowers and birch leaves. Similar to the UK’s May Day traditions, dances are performed around the maypole – including the quirky “little frog dance”.
3. PERFORM A RITUAL
Traditionally, Midsummer signalled the season of love and fertility, and a range of rituals around this belief live on today. Those in search of love put seven flowers under their pillow at the end of the evening in the hope it will lead them to dream of a future spouse. Many others use the festival period to get married or start planning their wedding.
“It’s believed that putting seven flowers under your pillow at the end of the evening will lead you to dream of your future spouse.”
EAT, DRINK AND GET MERRY
No matter where you’re celebrating, you can be sure to find akvavit, beer and schnapps being liberally consumed through the night. For food, there’s pickled herring, potatoes with dill and sour cream, as well as fresh strawberries. Many also barbecue hotdogs and breads such as Snobrod (Danish campfire bread). In Finland, there’s a belief that the more raucous you get when marking Midsummer, the better luck you will have in the year ahead, while the more that’s drunk, the better the harvest will be.
GET NAKED & TALK TO COWS
It’s in Iceland that Midsummer celebrations and beliefs take a turn into the left field. It’s said that on this day cows can speak, seals become human, and the elves come out to play. It’s also believed that getting naked and rolling around in the morning dew will bring you good fortune for the year ahead.
PART 2:
SEARCHING FOR MIDSOMMAR
After spending summers chasing the dream of Midsummer, I finally got the gist – says Betty Bachz, founder of sunglasses brand Møy Atelier.
Midsummer has always belonged more to Sweden than any other. The allure of picture-perfect Swedes wearing wildflower wreaths and virginal shrouds, dancing around green pastures and singing siren songs is tangible. As a child of Chinese immigrant parents growing up in Norway, it was this idea that formed a key part of what I saw as the ideal Scandinavian life.
Betty Bachz
Yet for the longest time, it seemed just out of reach: my early memories of Sankthans, as we call it in Norway, consisted of a lacklustre bonfire. Why then settle for that when your neighbouring country is seemingly offering bottomless schnapps, maypole dancing and skinny dipping with a future lover? So when one summer during my later teenage years a girlfriend suggested a group of us head to the nearest Swedish town to try our luck on scoring an invite to an authentic Midsommar experience, I jumped at the opportunity with the enthusiasm of a thousand baby goats.
“So when one summer a girlfriend suggested we head to the nearest Swedish town I jumped at the opportunity with the enthusiasm of a thousand baby goats.”
But upon arrival, the small Swedish town seemed abandoned, even ghostlike. After stocking up on local beer and cider we headed to our final destination: a flat in a duplex, where, as the hours passed, our hopes of scoring an invite to a ‘real’ Midsummer party by a passing group of Swedish boys seemed to drift further away. Still, we couldn’t be discouraged and as the the sun never sets on the soltice, the night seemed forever young.
Ultimately, I spent the night chugging down sugary cider that tasted nothing like strawberries, cherries or an angel’s kiss in spring – and watching my girlfriends bang on the doors of our neighbouring flats in a last-ditch effort to find a party. It was scarier than Ari Aster’s 2019 Midsommar horror flick.
It did teach me a valuable lesson of what Midsummer is all about. Like any other holiday, it’s best to surround yourself with family and friends, rather than trying to get an invite to a stranger’s party. Families in Sweden have long understood this point. They flock to the countryside, making flower picking, skinny dipping and excessive drinking a practical reality.
“Families in Sweden have long understood this point. They flock to the countryside, making flower picking, skinny dipping and excessive drinking a practical reality.”
Today, I usually spend the holiday in Norway with my loved ones, content with what I have. But for a true taste of the traditional Midsummer experience, I suggest you head to the flower meadows of Dalarna, a scenic region in central Sweden which translates as ‘the valleys’.
Popular locations with a warm welcome include Sollerön, a tiny island in lake Siljan, and Rättik, a town on the edge of the same lake. Here, communities get together to pick birch leaves and flowers to decorate the maypole from dawn. By midday your belly will be filled with herrings, potatoes in dill, hotdogs and a healthy amount of schnapps. The evening is spent dancing around the maypole and playing outdoor games. Heed my warning and pace yourself if you plan to dance the night away: the alcohol and food consumption will be as lively and potent as the everlasting summer sun.
