this was my 5th midsummer celebration in sweden. i’m almost a pro. hehe. this year we celebrated at the camp where i took my youth last weekend – the church owns the camp & always plans a traditional midsummer celebration. the weather was great, there were tons of people there, lots of yummy fika, and lina & i invited a friend (who’s from germany but lives in sweden) to join us.
before heading out to the camp, the three of us had fika at our apartment (see the previous post): strawberries, whipped cream, & coffee. cozy & yummy.
the entrance to the camp. the weather held up!
tradition #1: picking wildflowers for a crown.
my love picking flowers.
my lovely little bouquet.
tradition #2: dancing around the midsummer pole. ironically, our german friend is the only one with a crown on her head.
that’s me with the microphone. giving my inspiring (hopefully) talk. in swedish, of course. hehe.
tradition #3: swedish folk dancing
tradition #4: the obligatory hopping pic. or at least our attempt at it. (you know it’s a universal tradition).
it didn’t rain. it was pretty warm. and we headed home fairly early after all the festivities. but, since the sun doesn’t go down until after 11, the 3 of us thought it’s be cozy to stay up, chat, tell stories, & look at photo albums. sound alike a girly night, huh? well, we loved it.
today, the actual midsummer day (remember, here in sweden all the big celebrations are on the eve of the actual holiday) is a day for resting & doing nothing. i feel a bit like i can breathe some for a few days. i’ve made it through the youth camp, midsummer, & it’s 2 weeks before my next work camp. so now, i can focus on life at home. well, i’m still working too, but it’ll be kinda slow until the camp. then, after the camp, i’ve got 3 weeks vacation coming to me. can’t wait! perhaps i can also squeeze in a little more writing on my book between now & then. yeah.
happy saturday to you all out there. peace & flowers.
Midsommar – I always wanted to be part of it but haven’t yet, regretfully! I wonder how warm it gets in Sweden at the end of June? You guys still look all bundled up – haha!
Seems like a nice day!
Well you must experience at some point! It is a cozy traditional time. The weather can be quite warm, but it generally rains on midsummer (just to spite us). June is a weird month. Actually, summer weather in Sweden is weird. It’s either a good one, or a bad one. It can be 20-25, but it can also be 10-15. You can’t count on anything here. This June has been one of the rainiest Junes ever so I hear. 🙁 Midsummer was not cold, but one always needs a jacket if the sun is not shining. I miss NC summers!