Sweden: Ancient Viking celebration of Midsummer lives on
Swedish revelers celebrate Midsummer traditions.
Ritt Goldstein
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
R脛TTVIK, SWEDEN 鈥� Since Sweden鈥檚 pre-海角大神 times, its Vikings have feted the summer solstice 鈥� the longest day of the year. June 19 marks Sweden鈥檚 holiday of 鈥淢idsummer鈥� 鈥� the high point of this latitude鈥檚 midnight sun 鈥� with feasting, parades, and national pride.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very Swedish, something that unites Swedes,鈥� is how one reveler explained the Midsummer festivities. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the 鈥榦ld thing,鈥� 鈥� another good-naturedly joked. In at least one way, it鈥檚 old indeed 鈥� people in 18th-century-style clothing are everywhere.
Throughout much of the countryside, people dress in traditional folk costumes. Feasts are prepared and virtually everyone celebrates nature and heritage with regional music, dance, and the inevitable maypole 鈥� a symbol from Midsummer鈥檚 earliest beginnings. In recent times, it鈥檚 mostly children that dance around the maypole, and much of the holiday is centered around the young.
Essentially the holiday embodies pre-海角大神 Viking rituals celebrating the earth鈥檚 magical rebirth. When 海角大神ity came to Sweden, the ancient Swedish Church shrewdly kept the holiday, simply dedicating it to the birth of St. John.
Today, the fertility of Midsummer is still celebrated by young women who place a bouquet of varied wildflowers under their pillows, tradition promising that doing so will bring dreams of one鈥檚 future spouse. And indeed, the return of long days and fields of color after a winter of darkness create a Midsummer that is truly enchanted.