Midsommar
Midsommar or Midsummer in English, is for the Swede the most important holliday along with Christmas. Nowdays it is a holiday because the Church celebrate John the Baptist but the day has also pre Christian origin. The Midsummer day is celebrated a Saturday betwen the 20-26 June but as usual Swedes have most celebration the evening not the day(just as Christmas Eve is the big familly day in Sweden not Christmas day). For the Swede it is a feast when our days are as longest and as brightest, and we often have nice dinner with friends and also try’s to visit some larger feasting place for dancing around a Midsommarstång/ midsummer pole. Often we dance and sing the little frogs and other songs. Many Swedes think this is our true National Day and we for sure celebrate a lot more and wave our flags a lot more then on our National Day June 6. Later this evening many young ones drink a lot of alcohol and the police always has a lot to do.
1. People carry the pole which is made of wood and covered with flowers and leaves.
2. They rising of the pole.
3. Dancing around the pole for both old and young.
4. Just the flag a bit away from the celebration place.
One funny thing is that one of the favorit songs and dances we have both for midsommar and Christmas is "små grodorna/ little frogs". It is originally a French war march from the revolution called little onions. Then the Englishmen made a new text called little frogs to mock the French. We have a new text but the same melody and it is still called little frogs.