Midsommar Eve 2023
Midsommar Eve is a Friday that falls between the 19th and 25th of June ever year to coincide with summer solstice. This was our third midsummer since moving to Sweden but I have been an enthusiastic participant of the celebrations for many years now.
Ever since I met Philip I knew there was something special about Midsommar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. There is music, song, dance, food, family, friends, shots, flowers, all of my most favourite things gathered together in celebration of summer with hopeful praise for a good harvest ahead. For a whole day (and it’s a long one given we’re up north and it’s summer solstice week) everyone fully embraces the traditions, gets behind them and partakes. The most cynical member of the group, even the iciest of teenagers is known to soften for the day and hop like a frog in a glorious dance of joy around a giant penis pole (more about that later).
Preparations began the day before with shopping and organised alcohol buying. All alcohol in Sweden above 3.5% is housed in museum like status at state owned off licences. The Systembolaget has unusual opening hours promoting the ever efficient meticulous planning of the Swede in their pre-arranged drinking schedules. Usually the Systembolaget is a serious place, somewhere I don’t like to bring shouting, unpredictable kids, somewhere your purchases are looked upon with judgement should they be over the respectable amount. Not the case coming up to Midsommar Eve. Suddenly, staff members are flower crown wearing jovial beings patting little kids on the head and offering assistance as you load another tray of beer onto your trolley.
On Midsommar Eve morning, we took the bikes and went in search of wild flowers. Flowers are used for the pole, in flower crowns for the girls and in vases on tables, you need a lot of wild flowers. Of course you can always buy some but Swedes take pride in these traditions and tend not to opt for the quick fixes. We gathered them in bunches along with birch tree vines which make up the main part of the pole and the crowns.
Wild flower picking in the woods
Being Irish, I am usually tasked with the easier food prep jobs. The Swedes take on the task of making a variety of sauces to make pickled herring more appealing while I stayed in the safety zone, hulling strawberries and baking cake for fika. Other important dishes to appear are the Vasterbotten pie (made from a distinctive Swedish cheese); first potatoes of the season, smoked salmon, a selection of hard breads and cheeses and the ever faithful meatball and lingonberry sauce. All laid out in smorgasbord style for eager plates to be filled up.
A Midsommar Eve feast
As the feast was prepared, some of the women dressed the pole and readied the flower crowns, trying them on the children’s heads for size. I can imagine if there are no little kids around, the lunch can last hours. We had fed the kids first so they allowed us to eat and sing two songs followed by schnapps and more herring before their excitement bubbled up to near bursting and dancing around the penis pole was upon us.
The grown ups are sleeping bears who will wake up and chase the children
It makes sense that the adults have loosened their inhibitions before partaking in what originally felt like the most ludicrous and ridiculous arrangement of choreography I had ever observed (and I went to Performing Arts school!) The method acting required as grown-ups hop like frogs, sleep like bears and fall into ditches as crows, is of a Daniel Day Lewis standard. All the children learn them in day-care so as little as 2 years old they are clasping hands and singing. It’s adorable and so wonderful to see all ages playing and being silly together. One midsummer, seeing a very close family friend of Philip’s frog hopping with the children at age 82, I felt the same feeling I get when watching the John Lewis Christmas add for the first time every year. The pole is exactly what it looks like, a phallus symbol, balls and all, erect and pointing into the earth in a celebration of fertility. After a selection of the favourite numbers ending in Sleeping Bear where the children sing as the adults sleep like bears then wake up and chase them around the garden growling resulting in huge excitement from all parties, family photos were taken. White is generally the favourite colour of clothing for the day, floaty dresses, flower crowns, it’s a perfect photo opportunity. Standing in front of the penis pole as it fertilises mother earth we smile and posed for family photos that many Swedes will use as Christmas card images in months to come. A little reminder of the summer light in the midst of the darkness.
A family of flower crowns
Whatever your task was for the day, you don’t just bring it and pass it over to the host, you also prepare it, set it out and clean up after. Our big moment was up next, Fika. Coffee, cake and strawberries. It was up to us to take charge, take the initiative to call the timing on it, take coffee orders and serve everything. I love this, taking some of the slack off the host. In Ireland there is generally one exceptionally helpful aunt that over helps at big events but for Midsommar in Sweden, everyone is an exceptionally helpful aunt at one point during the day. The Fika went down a treat, the children were given candy bags, the adults made sangria, life doesn’t get much better.
Soon it was time for dinner, whoever was in charge of children’s food got that sorted first, small hungry people are no joke. A movie was then set up for them and a BBQ is set out for the adults. Back to the table for more food but no songs this time. All there was left to do was to sit, relax, enjoy a glass of wine and talk with good friends under a white night sky.
As I’ve been writing this, I’ve realised what makes this day extra special for me. It’s all my favourite parts of Christmas, the feelings, the traditions, the magic, without the stress of presents. Imagine for a minute, Christmas, during summer, without presents. No rush to Smyths to scour empty toy shelves, no what the hell will I get Uncle Barry who has enough socks? No opening present pressure as the giver eagerly awaits your response, just food, friends, family, song and dance.
After a long, dark winter, there is nothing more joyful than to eat pickled fish, drink strong schnapps, dance around a penis pole with flowers in my hair and sing songs of praise to summer and fertility. Ok, I know, it still sounds ludicrous, you’ll just have to take my word for it.