A Swedish Midsummer Night’s dream

Midsummer is a holiday of love, light, nature, and beauty. On the day of Midsummer Eve of Swedish young women collect seven or nine species of flowers to put under the pillow at night. During the night they will then, according to tradition, dream about the man they will marry some day. Midsummer Eve is also the maypole, folk music, beautiful girls with their hair decorated with flowers, and of course, food such as matjes herring with new potatoes, sour cream and chives.

Would you like to try a bit of the Swedish Midsummer? TotallySwedish now offer you home made pickled herring from south of Sweden and Aquavit snaps.

Midsummer Day is a public holiday in Sweden and is celebrated on the Saturday following the sun eclipse. In the pre-Christian era, Midsummer was associated with a sacrificial feast in the spirit of fruitfulness. The Christian church however, made Midsummer a Christian holiday to celebrate the memory of John the Baptist. Today the day of John the Baptist is celebrated on the Sunday after Midsummer Day.