The First Day of Summer is a Holiday in Sweden. It Should be Ours Too!

Eating, drinking, dancing, everything! Summer solstice as the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. Naturally, northernmost countries like Sweden have the biggest and oldest celebrations!

Wherever you are, summer is for feast and fun. Here are some ways to lend from old traditions and add more meaning to your midsummer foods, drinks, outfits and decorations.

1. Greet the morning sunshine

Ancient ruins from the Stonehenge to the Aztec West are built to honor and align with the sunlight of the summer solstice day. The sun would shine through a precisely designed architecture to form amazing sun tunnels or illuminate an important artefact. Keep this in mind as you lift the curtains to welcome this special summer day!

2. Eat strawberries and summer flowers

Celebrate like the Swedes with strawberry and whipped cream or Swedish strawberry cake. Flowers are also the best for eating at this time—flower cordials, jams, salads, teas, you name it. We think nothing beats summer like elderflower cordial—it’s “summer in a bottle”!

3. Sing and dance outdoors

The biggest midsummer celebration in Stockholm is at the open-air museum, Skansen. On this holiday, a maypole is raised, people dance to folk music and old traditions, eat pickled herrings, and enjoy the day all the way into an elongated dusk.

4. Wear wildflowers in your hair

Flower crown is not just reserved for the bride! During midsummer, women and children put flowers in their hair and it’s simply a festive look to wear. Flowery bracelets or necklaces will do as well for the urbanites!

5. Remember the Sun god

Summer is the season of the sun! You can wear yellow and gold to celebrate it, or even put on a time-honored look with sun ray patterns and symbols reminiscent of old sun god legends. From past to present, from Egypt to Japan to the Romans, every ancient culture has art and patterns describing the sun.

6. Bonfires and love spells

Have a bonfire at the lake or seaside, like the Finnish “kokko”. While gathering firewood, don’t forget to pick seven different wildflowers and put them under your pillow that night—it’s an age-old love spell for a girl to see her future husband in her dreams that night!

We would love to experience summer solstice celebrations in Sweden one day. What’s your celebration?