If you should ever decide to come to Sweden, decide on a time around mid-June. Then – as it happens – the Swedes take part in an annual ritual: Midsommar celebrations. After observing it for a few years now, I can safely say that it involves a lot of running and carrying. And eating. And drinking. And singing.

But let me explain.

Midsommar is centred around the summer solstice and many – especially Northern Europeans – celebrate the event. In Sweden for instance, the Saturday between June 20 and June 26 (plus the Midsommar Eve the evening before) is reserved for a day-long feast.

Midsommar actually reminds me a bit of Christmas in Germany: food shopping like there is no tomorrow. Traditionally, tables are decked out with soused herring, new potatoes (a fairly recent tradition*), dill, chives, sour cream, crispbread, grilled meat or fish, as well as fresh strawberries in any shape or form. But for many, the motto seems to be ‘more is definitely not enough’.

The traditional drink is cold beer and schnapps. And with each refill, a song is sung (before the emptying of glasses commences). Needless to say that there is a lot of singing at Midsommar. Sometimes loud, sometimes out of tune and sometimes even slurred. But most definitely a lot of it. (Wagner’s The Ring of the Nibelung with its roughly 15 hours playtime is challenged every single year. I have no doubt about that.)

But the running is still my favourite part.

Summer is short in the northern parts of Europe. And Midsommar celebrations would not be truly enjoyable (and traditional it seems) if the weather were fine! It just has to rain and then stop and then start again and then stop … in an endless sequence. So, food that was previously standing on the table outside has to be rushed in. And then brought back out again as soon as the rain stops, just to be rushed in again (the plates and glasses too). It is a lot of fun to watch, provided that you are not forced to participate in the running and carrying.

Due to that there is a lot less eating going on than what one would anticipate.

Will I be celebrating Midsommar in 2016 again? Here in Sweden? A most definite YES!

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*Serving new potatoes with the herring is relatively new. Especially in the northern parts of the country, potatoes weren’t really ready to be picked at the time of the summer solstice. Eating potatoes that weren’t really ‘ready’ to be harvested was therefore frowned upon, it was seen as being wasteful. However, attitudes changed in the 1920s and many Swedes started to enjoy their potatoes even in such a decadent way.