Student blogs

Happy July! Is it only me or did June fly by very quickly? Before we know it, we are past the longest days of the year and hitting the middle of summer break. As you all may know, Swedes take sunlight, warmth, and summer very seriously. One of how this dedication (or dare I say, obsession) can be seen, is in the celebration of midsummer. This year was the first midsummer I celebrated since 2020, and lucky for me, I got to celebrate twice, so I was quite excited.

I have always celebrated with my close friends; this year was no exception. For me, it has always been filled with many odd and funny moments that characterize Swedish culture! So today, I will share with you what my midsummer celebration consisted of (spoilers: tons of food, flowers, and games!)

A cold plunge

Though I did not participate this year, it’s quite common to go for a quick swim in a nearby lake before (or after) the long day! Many international students think Swedish lakes are substantially colder than they are used to. This is understandable, as lake temperatures are typically under 25 degrees in the summer. For this reason, a short 2-10 minute plunge is enough for most to enjoy the swim without freezing. But overall, I think a nice cooling swim before gets your blood pumping and prepares you for the long busy day!

Food prepping

After a refreshing morning, it is time to prepare the midsummer lunch/dinner dishes! There typically isn’t a set time to eat, but most eat between late lunch to early dinner time. When celebrating with friends, we have all been tasked with a dish, and often have time to prepare it at the host’s house. I personally cherish these “pre” celebration moments because I just find it so fun to cook, talk, taste-test, and be present with close friends!

Swedes enjoy consistency in their festive foods and tend to eat the same staple dishes for midsummer, Christmas, and Easter. Apart from the all-time-crowd favorite combination a.k.a boiled potatoes and meatballs, a few other dishes are enjoyed. Pickled herring, västerbottenpaj (savory pie made with a Northern Swedish cheese), and smoked salmon, are some typical dishes we eat! My friends and I also enjoy chips with some sour cream, caviar, red onions, and dill on top (all of them combined are a common Swedish flavor combination) as an appetizer. As I was tasked with appetizers, I made mini västerbotten “pies” with these toppings, and they were a hit!

Flower picking

Traditionally, we find seven different types of flowers to place under our pillows to dream about who we will marry. But since that didn’t interest us, we tasked some friends to pick some pretty branches and flowers to make flower crowns with. Once they were back, we took turns making our crowns. One of our friends from Southern Sweden was particularly skilled at making the crown, so she taught us all! I have gotten a tutorial every year, but I always need a refresher. After some cutting, tying, bunching together, and pushing in some flowers as a final touch, we all had a customized flower crown before dinner!

Dancing

I did not get a chance to dance around the maypole this year, but it is common to do so! There are some classic songs that everyone knows, such as “Små grodorna” (“Small frogs), or “Vi äro musikanter” (“We are musicians”). I’ll admit that it might look a bit “culty” to witness many people dancing and singing in a synchronized manner around a maypole. But it is just so fun! There’s very little shame felt after a few rounds because everyone looks foolish.

Feasting (and singing)

Despite the lack of dancing, you will not get away without singing while eating the midsummer food. It is typical to sing traditional “snapsvisor” (snaps-songs) before gulping an ice-cold 4cl shot/beverage of choice during the midsummer meal. While there are traditional songs like “Helan går” (“The whole goes down” in which you gulp your beverage at the end of the song), we also sang songs commonly sung at university dinners. Most songs follow the melody of well-known Swedish songs with modified (chaotic) lyrics. The singing also turns gradually chaotic throughout the meal. In particular, there was a song where the lyrics solely consisted of random 2-3 digit numbers. But for each round, the melody sped up until we couldn’t sing coherently…! At the end of it all, you are stuffed with food and full of adrenalin from the singing.

Odd games

After a bit of rest, we moved onto playing games! Swedes don’t joke around with organizing games for midsummer, and we always put 1-2 people in charge of them. Outside, we played rounds of kubb (a traditional wood throwing game) and “femkamp” (“pentathlon”/mini-game series) with teams! These typical consist of relays using various props like balloons, candy, and water bottles. But the most famous game is called “Norska fyllan” (“The Norwegian drunk”) which is a small mockery towards our neighbors. This is a relay where team members run towards a baseball bat, spin around 10 times, and sprint back as fast as possible. The concept is easy, but executing is another question. I usually try my best to keep composed in public, but this time around I fell ungraciously. It took me a while to get up too. When it got darker, we headed in for a music quiz with a midsummer theme. We simply had to guess the song name and artist, but with the themes, “middle”, “summer”, and “sun”! Towards the end it just turned into a karaoke party filled with lots of ABBA.

Midsummer cake

Yes, this is technically food that we feasted on, but the cake deserves its own section in this blog. There is a something so yummy and perfect about a homemade midsummer cake that I believe can only be experienced after you try a piece! It’s a very simple sponge cake with whipped cream, and loads of fresh berries. We got to enjoy this between 22 and midnight this year, and it was the perfect evening dessert! On the second midsummer celebration I attended this year, I also made a lemon sorbet. Though not traditional, it balanced out the creaminess of the cake pretty well.

Sleep is for the weak

After a long day, we typically end things after midnight. As the night comes to an end though, it starts getting lighter outside again. That is how you know it’s been a great day! I recommend you sleep with an eye mask with fully shut blinds after such a celebration.

I hope you got a brief idea of how a midsummer celebration can look like in Sweden. There is, however, no “correct” or typical way to celebrate it! For more insight, go check out Tade’s blog on his first midsummer last year. This is also not a typical summer day in Sweden either, with the rest of our days looking quite different! But I genuinely love finding an excuse to hang out with my dear (but busy) friends for a full day, and I hope you will get to experience it too! Stay tuned for more summer blogs and until next time!