Midsummer in Sweden

Hello!

Last Friday, June 24, was Midsummers Eve in Sweden. It is a really old tradition where people get together with their friends and relatives. Usually, everyone leaves the cities and go out in the countryside and celebrate the longest day of the year. Well, the day when there is sunshine the longest. In some parts of Sweden it is sunshine the whole day and the whole night. It is called midnightsun and is a large tourist attraction.

Common things to do on Midsummers Eve are:

• Raise a Midsummer Pole. You put leaves and flowers on a long pole and erect it somewhere. Then you dance around it. The music is mostly old childrens songs and folk music. 
• Eat traditional food. In Sweden that is most often "sill" (pickled herring) and potatoes. With that, there is the "snaps". And of course you sing some "snapsvisor". 
• Barbecue and party as usual. 

I myself had a really good time by the Midsummer Pole. There is this song called "små grodorna" which means "the small frogs". Perfect for me. I danced it over and over and over until my head spun.

After that, I did a really good job of turning some good meat to coal on the barbecue.

Bye bye!