Well, we experienced the longest day of the year last weekend. Here in Uppsala, the sun rose at approximately 3:30 in the morning, and set around 10:15 at night. I have now gotten used to the fact that we eat supper when the light outside makes it feel around 4pm. But the birds chirping at 2 am is harder to get used too...
Here is an image of the church backlit by the lightening sky at 2 am (and this was on May 23 a full month before the solstice).
The midsommar/midsummer holiday is pretty much the largest holiday in Sweden (maybe even bigger than Christmas). Swedes gather together, dance around poles, sing songs, drink schnapps and eat sill (yes, every holiday seems to encompass these food items), and play games. One of my students described a pentathalon of sorts that he took part in, where the games consisted of throwing a rubber boot as far as you could, walking with a stick between your knees, drawing a horse pooing (he used another term) with your bad hand, blowing up a condom as fast as you could and there was one other game that I've forgotten. My midsummer was slightly more laid back than that. S., J. and I rented a car and drove to their countryhouse (B. was in France). It was my first time driving here and I was slightly nervous that I may have forgotten how after my lack of practice :) On our way to the countryhouse we stopped in Gränna and watched them make polkagris (kind of like candy sticks), and picked up some fantastic knäckebröd (a hard bread like Ryvita). The country house is just outside of a small town called Gällstad (pronounced Ylstad) and it is about a 4.5 hour drive from Stockholm.
As usual, Swedes celebrate midsummer on the eve rather than the actual day, so Friday was a busy day getting the table set up in the loft and prepping for the arrival of the guests, which included 5.5 other Swedes and an Australian. We spend the afternoon making our midsummer pole and the girls made flower wreaths for our hair (mine was rather shabby looking but hey it was my first time!). We then did some traditional dancing around the pole and played some kubb. Our supper consisted of the traditional Swedish holiday foods and we enjoyed plenty of singing (luckily our hosts supplied song sheets) and schnapps after every song. Some of the other guests also brought along some song sheets of our own so we even ended up singing a German song (see video clip). I think that our celebration was somewhat laid back in comparison to those of other people but it made for a nice day.
Some cultures have taken to mocking Sweden for its love of this somewhat pagan holiday. The midsummer pole is actually a phallic symbol so this prompts some lewd ideas. For a crazy take on the midsummer tradition, watch this now banned Ikea commercial which aired in Germany....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Here is a video of our more tame version of midsummer...
For more photos from my weekend...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=129853&l=85c82&id=842465120
Well, that's it for now! We're moving tomorrow and B.'s parents arrive on Wed. so its going to be a busy week! We had a Canada Day Party last night (thanks J. and R. for all the Canada gear) and it was a big hit - and I think fairly educational for our non-Canadian guests...I'll write more about that in the days to come!
Hej då
E.
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