This 18th installment update submitted by David
Anderson documents the 2014 Midsummer celebration in Grytnäs, Sweden.
If you
missed the near real time trip updates webpage, go to Trip Highlights . Editor
20 June, Friday
It is Mid-Summers day, when all of Sweden has the day off to
celebrate the sun’s northern most reach in to the northern hemisphere. This is an event that goes back to the dawn
of human awareness that the seasons change.
There is a time of light, a time for dark; a time for growth, a time for
harvest; a time for work, a time for rest; a time to celebrate life.
Throughout the country from cities to the smallest villages
people celebrate the longest day of light.
In six months, in the darkest days of winter, the promise of longer days
of light will be celebrated when select girls wear candles in their hair. These are celebrations that mark the changing
of the seasons. Mid-summers is a joyous
celebration of life.
Here's
a link to part of the Midsummers video:
After watching the maypole going up, traditional dancing,
and everyone dancing around the maypole we went home to gather with friends,
eat a fine meal that included locally produced ham, smoked bacon, and freshly
made pickled herring, and just a little drinking of beer and locally made vodka
(otherwise known as moonshine in the U.S.).
Smårgäsbord
The party had an international flavor with people from
Israel, Great Britain and the U.S.
Sweden in some respects is also a nation of recent immigrants. A great time was had by all on the evening
of the longest day of the year in Sweden.
It was a special time to celebrate Mid-Summers in the home of my
ancestors.
David Anderson
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