Midsommarstång, a Midsummer pole, which people raise it up to the sky to celebrate Midsummer!

Strawberry tarts are very common tarts eaten during Midsummer festivals. Strawberries are very well suited to the Swedish climate, and many strawberries are grown during this time of year.

Very pretty harbor town on Gotland Island. I would like to visit there someday.

My friend says they spent the afternoon in a rowboat, reading and napping.

Midsommar in Visby, Godland

I had a corona at this year's Midsummer's festival and was home with a high fever the whole time.

When I told my friends that I had a fever for a long time and could not attend this year's Midsummer's Festival, a friend who lives on Gotland Island sent me photos of the Midsummer's Festival.

Midsummer is a Viking-era festival that originated before the spread of Christianity to Sweden around the 9th century, and even after the spread of Christianity, it is a festival that reflects very strongly the conditions of that time.

Midsummer dance around the Midsummer pole

The Midsummer Festival begins with a festival in which a pillar made for the Midsummer Festival is thrust into the ground and raised high into the sky.　The Midsommarstång (Midsummer Pillar) is decorated with birch leaves and flowers, and two circular loops are suspended from either side of the pillar.

The purpose of raising the Midsummer Pillar seems to have been a festival to pray for a bountiful harvest in the past and for the autumn harvest.　The shape of the Midsummer Pillar is phallic, and I think it is very interesting that the customs of the Viking era, which seem to be found in many places around the world, combine fertility and reproductive acts.　After raising the Midsummer Pillar, everyone dances around it, which is also a very unique custom that I find interesting every year.

I was not able to attend this year, but I hope to participate in this unique Swedish Viking-era festival, Midsummer's festival, text year.

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ゴットランド島での夏至祭り

今年の夏至祭りはコロナになってしまい、家でずっと高熱にうなされていました。

ずっと熱がでて、今年の夏至祭りには参加できなかったことを友達に伝えると、ゴットランド島に住んでいる友達が夏至祭りの写真を送ってくれました。

夏至祭りの起源はスウェーデンにキリスト教が９世紀ごろに伝播される以前のヴァイキング時代のお祭りで、キリスト教が伝播した後もその当時の様子をとても色濃く反映しているお祭りです。

夏至祭りはまず、夏至祭りの為に作られた棒を地面に突き刺し、その棒を天高く掲げるお祭りから始まります。　夏至祭りに作られたMidsommarstång（夏至柱）は樺の木の葉っぱや、華で飾られていて、左右に円形の輪を吊り下げます。

夏至柱を掲げる目的は、昔は五穀豊穣を祈願し、秋の収穫を祈ったお祭りだったようです。　夏至柱の形状が男根のようで、世界各地でみられる五穀豊穣と生殖行為を結び付けたようなヴァイキング時代の風習がとても興味深いなと思います。　そして、その夏至柱を掲げた後は、その周りでみんなで踊るといった、これまたとても独特な風習で毎年見るたびに興味深いなと感じています。

今年は参加できなかったのですが、また来年はこのスウェーデン独特のヴァイキング時代のお祭り、夏至祭りに参加してみたいなと思います。