Midsummer in Sweden～ 夏至祭～ Message from founder LENA
In June
summer “officially” begins in Sweden. As our country is very long, 1572 km, the
temperature may vary from below zero in the north to 25C in the southern
regions in June. Only the very north part of our country still has the risk of
frost that might damage any annual kitchen plants or summer beddings.
We are many
who have planted seeds indoors already in February to have sturdy plants to set
out as soon as the temperatures allows it and Juni is definitely the month
where you can do that in the whole country.
I have
renovated my kitchen garden and are very busy planting out everything I have grown
indoors since month. My greenhouse is crowded, but for each day more and more
plants are planted out in pots, and beds making it a big transformation from
nothing to a flowering potager with vegetables and cut flowers.
Second week
of June most schools are closing for about 10 weeks, and we are all very
focused on harvesting the warmth and light during the coming months.
A few days
before midsummer Wexthuset has its yearly picknick close to the office on a
hill called Lurberget, it has a great view overlocking lake Mälaren a very
historical place where the Vikings run Sweden in year 800-1050 from the then old
capitol Birka situated on an island just outside from where the picture shows.
Midsummer
is celebrated the 24th of June this year. It is always a Friday
between 19-25th of June. I would say that Midsummer is in the hart
of the Swedish people, perhaps the most important holiday next to Christmas. For
many people the beginning of a period of leave. Historically, both the
midsummer and the midsummer pole go back to a celebration in northern Europe of
the budding vegetation of spring. In the peasant society, midsummer was a
turning point in the working year, while the midsummer night itself was full of
magical powers and supernatural beings. Midsummer's original function as a
church service is now almost non-existent.
The say is
that a girl shall pick seven different wildflowers passing a fence for each
flower she picks. The bouquet shall then be placed under her pillow, and she
will dream of her husband to be.
Maybe that
is not happening a lot, but I know for sure that some girls still do.
More common
is the midsummer wreath we put in our hair. The wreath is not only worn by girls
and women, also many men wear them.
Tradition
is to make them in the morning using a steal ring or twigs that are woven as a
base. Then you make many small bouquets with short stems that finally is tied
to the base completing the whole circle.
To store them for a short while you can let them float in a bucket with water
until the festivities starts.
Somewhere
between noon and 3PM the pole is raised, but before that we all gather wild
flowers to decorate the pole. When finished it is raised and the celebration
begins where we sing and dans to old folk songs until exhausted.
Typically,
we eat cake with cream and strawberries, pickled herring with new potatoes and the
adults have a snaps or two.
At midsummer the sun does not set so the festivities can go on for many hours. It is magical to sit and watch the sun at midnight where the shadows are getting longer, but then suddenly birds starting to sing again as the sun reverts to rise again.
（以下、日本語訳）
スウェーデンの夏は6月から始まります。
スウェーデンの国土は縦に長く1572㎞もあるので、気温は地域によってまだまだ大きな差があり、南では２５℃程度まであがりますが、北限の方では氷点下になり、一部でキッチンプラントや夏用の栽培地に霜の被害が出てしまうこともあります。
私も、キッチンガーデンを整理して、植替えや室内で育てていた植物の移動などで忙しくしています。
温室はとってもごった返していて、次から次に苗鉢から芽が出てくるものを植替え、何もなかったプランターのところに花が咲き乱れ始めます。
6月の2週目に入ると、学校は10週にわたっての夏休みに入ります。スウェーデン人はこの時期に一年中の暖かさと太陽を取り込もうと、みんな必死です。
今年のMidsummerは6月24日で、毎年6月19-25日間の金曜日に設定されています。Midsummerはスウェーデンの心のよりどころであり、クリスマスに次ぐ重要なホリデーで、めいめい楽しみな夏休みに入っていきます。
歴史的には「Midsummer」と「MidsummerPole」は北ヨーロッパにおいては農作物の芽吹きを祝うお祭りであり、農村社会では新しい年度の始まりとなっていました。さらに、「Midsummer」の夜には不思議な力や自然の魔法に満ち溢れていて、今はすたれてしまっていますが、宗教的な儀式も多くありました。
おまじないみたいなものでは、女の子が7つのワイルドフラワーを摘んできて、それを生垣の隙間から通したものでブーケを作って枕の下にしいて寝ると、将来のお婿さんが夢に出てくるといったものがあります。今では信じる人は少なくなってしまったけど、たぶんまだ信じてやっている年頃の子は多いはず。
もっと一般的なところでは、頭に載せる花冠のMidsummerリースがあります。このリースは女性だけでなく男性も載せるんですよ！
ベーシックなものでは、鉄や小枝の輪を作って、そこに早朝から摘んできた花で小さなブーケを作り、輪っかに織り込んでいきます。出来上がると、それを水の張ったバケツに浮かべてお祭りが始まるまで保管します。
大体正午から午後3時ぐらいまでの間にMidsummer ポールが建てられます。たてるまえに、こちらもワイルドフラワーできれいに飾り付けます。
そしてポールが立ち上がると、お祭りの始まり。みんなで疲れ果てるまで踊ったり歌ったりしながらパーティーをするのよ！
パーティーの食事は、いちごのクリームのケーキを始め、ニシンの酢漬け、新じゃがが並び。大人はアクアビットなどの強いお酒をショットで飲んだりします。
夏至の夜、太陽はほとんど沈みません。
夜中まで出
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