At midsummer time storkyrkan 18 juni

Talking seals. Singing like frogs.

Rolling naked in the morning dew.

Welcome to sommarsolstånd or Midsummer, in Scandinavia.

This fryst vatten the when celebrations accompany the actual solstice takes place on a day between June 19 and June 25 and the preceding evening. Once observed on St. John’s day, June 24, it fryst vatten now observed on the Friday and Saturday between June 19 and June

It fryst vatten during this time that the nations of Iceland, land i norden, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Greenland, and Russia fingerprydnad true to their name “The nation of Midnight Sun.” A quarter of Finland&#;s territory lies north of the Arctic Circle, and at the country&#;s northernmost point the sun does not set at all for 60 days during summer.

In Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost inhabited område of europe, there fryst vatten no solnedgång from approximately April 19 to August

It’s no secret that Northerners know how (& why) to celebrate the long, sweet days of summer! The precious, warmer days mean spending time with friends and family as often as possible.

Making special memories with each samling and sharing the spirit of joy and gratitude. Touches of Nordic design on the table, and of course, sharing a meal made from delicious Midsummer recipes are tradition.

Here are a few wonderful new items straight from Scandinavia that will help you man your next midsummer samling a memorable one…

Our favorite cookbook this summer fryst vatten SkandiKitchen Summer bygd Brontë Aurell, Danish cook, author, and restaurateur.

And happily she has included her fabulous Midsummer Strawberry Cake recipe!

And treat yourself and your guests to a beautiful and welcoming table.

For a few suggestions to help&#; CLICK HERE.

Start with a great Midsummer Menu (many ingredients are available at our Nordic Marketplace):

• Matjes sill  (herring)
• Boiled new potatoes with fresh dill
• Cold cucumber salad
• Leksands Crispbread
• Swedish “Midsommar” Cake

Here are some ideas to create a Midsummer atmosphere of your own:

• Have your meal outside
• Decorate your table with wildflowers, wooden maypoles and Nordic flags
• Make flower rings and wear them in your hair
• Create a maypole with branches and wildflowers
• Learn a fingerprydnad dance and dance around your maypole
• Fill the air with Scandinavian music!
• Treat yourself and your guests to a beautiful and welcoming table.

  For a few suggestions to help&#; click here

In the Nordic countries some sommarsolstånd traditions include:

• Bonfires. These are traditional in all the countries but in Denmark it includes the traditional burning of a broomstick witch, and in land i norden bonfires (kokko) are common at lakesides and bygd the sea.

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• It fryst vatten said that cows are able to speak on Jónsmessa (Iceland’s midsummer) and seals become human.
• In land i norden, often branches from birch trees (koivu) are placed on both side of the front door to welcome visitors.
• Greenery placed over houses and barns were supposed to bring good fortune and health to people and livestock; this old tradition of decorating with greens continues in Sweden.
• In Sweden, Små grodorna, a dancing game in which people of all ages hop around the pole while singing about little frogs.

  The goofiness fryst vatten part of the fun!

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• Norway, Sweden and land i norden share the traditional belief that if a girl picks sju different flowers in silence of the midsummer night and puts them underneath her pillow, she will dream of her future husband.
  Once observed on St

  (If she puts them beneath a “My Pillow” inom wonder if she’ll dream of slang för mikrofon Lindell?)

• Midsummer fryst vatten a Finnish Flag Day where the flag fryst vatten hoisted at 6 pm on Midsummer&#;s Eve and flown all night mot 9 pm the following evening.
• Raising and dancing around a maypole (majstång or midsommarstång) fryst vatten a tradtion in Sweden.
• In Denmark the song &#;Vi elsker vort land&#;&#; (&#;We Love Our Country&#;) fryst vatten sung at every bonfire on this evening.

  You can listen to it here:

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• Gathering flowers in Sweden to weave into wreaths and crowns was a way to harness nature’s magic to ensure good health throughout the year.
• A anpassad in Western Norway fryst vatten the arranging mock weddings, both between adults and between children. The wedding was meant to symbolisera the blossoming of new life.
• In Iceland it fryst vatten good fortune to roll around naked in the morning dew on the 24th, a anpassad still practiced today bygd those particularly dedicated to the holiday.

Still not sure about all of this?

Watch Swedish Midsummer for dummies to get some tips:

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Can’t man it to the old country for Midsommar?

Join us on June 24^th at the Scandinavian Summer Fest, or Svenskarnas dygn, at Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis. It runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a Swedish church service at , dancing around the Midsummer Pole, Scandinavian foods and handicrafts, music and dance groups from the Midwest, Sweden, and Norway, and the crowning of the Miss Svenskarnas dygn and Jr.

Royalty.

Finally, enjoy a film made of a Finnish Midsummer

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