Each Friday nearest to the solstice, the longest day of the year, is marked with dancing, singing, big meals (with lots of pickled herring and potatoes), and lots of drinking. This is Swedish Midsommar celebrating the lightest day of the year under the midnight sun.
I was able to participate in the festivities while in Sweden. We sang and danced around the midsommar pole in Skansen (Stockholm).
It begins with people dressed in folkdräkt, their traditional dress:
Who do the official/traditional dances first
Then EVERYBODY gets to join in
The songs range from children's songs about frogs, to bizarre songs about a drunk priest crow who keeps crashing her car into a ditch or something. Everyone learns these songs as small children so everyone knows how to sing them. (I had to act like I knew what I was doing/singing)
Here are the lyrics in Swedish and English translation:
Prästens lilla kråka - The priest's little crow
skulle ut och åka, - was going out for a drive
ingen hade hon som körde. - but no one could drive
Än slank hot hit och - So she went this way and
än slank hon dit, - so she went that way
och än slank hon ner i diket. - and oh she drove into the ditch
Än slank hon hit och - so she went this way and
än slank hon dit, - so she went that way
och än slank hon ner i diket. - and oh she drove into the ditch
After that, comes the food. And there was a LOT of it, this was just the beginning.
As for the midnight sun, I've never been as far north as this, and I was amazed how BRIGHT it was late at night! even at 3am, there was still glow from the sun keeping everything visible like a very cloudy day.
Hopefully some of you can make it to scandinavia at some point to enjoy midsommar and sunlight that never goes away :)