So, today... (or was it yesterday) is longest day of the year. In my area it means sun setting at 11:50pm and rising at 2:48am and there is no darkness at all. As a celebration, Midsummer is cool. BBQ, soda and erm... other drinks. Usually some music festival or then people just head to their cottages. Even from cities. Someone once said if you want to see Helsinki empty, go there on Midsummer Saturday. Midsummer celebrations were moved to weekend (when they used to be around 21st June) because of... well, it messes up with the work too badly. God I love this time of the year. All the light - it's so great! So Happy Midsummer all
Here we celebrate the summer solstice on the night of June 24,San Juan (Saint John). There are big bonfires to burn all the bad things. There are places where people walk over hot coals or jump over the bonfires. It's a witches' night. Here there's a big bonfire,the fountains are covered with branches (fire/water) and there's folk music (my region's traditional instrument is the bagpipe),we're celtic.
wow, I'm jealous. I want to see the midnight sun too. some day i'm going to travel to Finland to see it. i know for you it's normal but for me... i hate midsummer. it's so hot (today 35 C° during the night 20 C°) and all those mosquitos. they love me and my blood. they only bite me. the good thing is that my parents have a swimming pool. pool party!! for those who love summer: happy midsummer!!
This is indeed a great day to celebrate. Usually we (my family and I) go to the coast and have a BBQ. It's quite nice. Just hope the weather will be a little nicer than it is now
Hormiga, we have bonfires here too, but I don't quite get it :lol: I understand Eastern bonfires better. Of course he it was also celebrated first religious holiday but now it's far from that :lol: I swear that sun setting/rising time was lying on the newspaper. I got in the house last night at midnight and I could still see the sun And mosquitos. Ah yes, this year will be bad with those. I think two days ago I was probably attacked by a million of them
Hee...you should see bites I came back from Scotland with Though it was my own fault really - the hotel was right on the edge of a loch, and when I went walking along the shore in the evening with my friend, I sometimes forgot to cover my arms with a jumper (though that was because it was quite warm) So...it's Midsummer? Err...and when did summer actually start in Britain? Oh yeah, that would be the week of warm weather we had two weeks ago. Ok, so British summer over *waves goodbye* Here's to autumn :lol:
It's called The Night of Saint John here,but it's not at all a religious celebration,it's absolutely pagan.Don't let the name confuse you. Here people dance around the bonfire and if I wasn't in exams I'll go and burn all my notes,actually when I'll graduate from university dunno if recycle or burn all my notes in the bonfire. :devil: And about the mosquitos,they love to bite me and not the people around me,once a science teacher explained us why there were people who were more likely to be bitten by mosquitos than others but I can't remember.
Woo! Have a wonderful Midsummer whoever celebrates here! (at least the Swedish ones do ) Perhaps tomorrow I go to see some bands to festival close of me.
Hehe It was my birthday yesterday.. was maybe expecting some drinks in a beer garden somewhere.. you know enjoy the light evening etc.. instead I was ill and spent the day off work on the sofa sipping water Still my fav day of the year though
Here it was June 21, the solstice. We don't have any celebrations, and the sun sets around 9-ish and rises around 4-ish. Not very exciting, odd for Los Angeles. But to everyone who has some sort of a celebration- happy Midsummer! (Midsummer? I'm not even out of school until next Thursday! )
Adzix Well for erm... economic reasons we had to move our Midsummer celebration to the weekend I mean, people are whole week away if it's during the week :lol::lol: I am serious. The school thing. They've tried to do the same thing here, that school would end in Mid June but people are not excited because of this Midsummer thing what we have here.
YAy! Midsummer! Gotta love our not-official national day! It rained in Värmland (border to Norway), and we had to celebrate it inside this year. lat year, before we sell our summer house, and were hoping for a nice, big celebration this year, but noooo.... We were over 20 people this year. We used to be about 30 until a couple of years ago when we decided to lay of the tradition. Now, last year we went big again. No dancing, no flower garlands, nothing. We did have a Maypole though, a small one inside. I'll guess I'll wait until next year and celebrate Midsummer at some other place though. Maybe Skansen, with all the 10000 tourists.
Oh yeah, you have that strange pole thingie over there Ok fine...some people have it here ttoo but it's in south, swedish-speaking areas (I wonder where they got the idea )
You know you love us! Finland and Sweden, commerades in arms, are the King and Queen of Midsummer. *points at Denmark, Norway and Iceland* OWNED! :lol: I love our traditions. Just love 'em.