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Midsummer’s Eve – Sweden’s Biggest Celebration
There’s Christmas, New Year and Easter – but only one celebration in Sweden sees grown adults hopping around a leaf-clad pole singing about frogs with no ears. Welcome to Midsummer’s Eve – Sweden’s biggest celebration and quite possibly the world’s most bewildering tradition.
Kuvat: AI & Patrik Hagborg
Teksti: Agnes Hagborg
For us Swedes (and Finns), Midsummer is an unquestionable tradition. It’s the festival of light – that day when the sun barely sets, flower crowns are donned, and the whole country gathers to celebrate that summer has finally arrived – even if the weather forecast says otherwise. We’re not entirely sure why we celebrate it, but we do it anyway. And we love it.
Perhaps you’ve tried explaining Midsummer to someone who’s never experienced it before – only then realising just how… unique it really is. Or maybe you’ve only heard of it through a Swedish cousin, a meme on the internet, or the horror film Midsommar. But yes – this flower-clad, schnapps-scented, frog-dancing festival truly does exist.
Midsummer has roots in both ancient pagan fertility rites and Christian celebrations, but these days it’s mostly about one thing: celebrating the light and the arrival of summer. That time of year when the sun hardly sets and the entire country comes alive. It’s collective joy, whatever the weather, and a chance to feel that summer has truly arrived – even if only for a day.
The Food – Pickled Herring, Potatoes and Strawberries by the Bucketload
No Midsummer is complete without pickled herring. It may seem odd to a newcomer that a holiday should centre around preserved fish, but that’s just how it is. The herring comes in every flavour: classic, archipelago-style, mustard, even curry, and is served with new potatoes, dill, soured cream, and sometimes a boiled egg or two. Accompanying dishes often include Västerbotten cheese pie, crispbread, gubbröra (an egg and anchovy mixture), cured salmon, and perhaps some cocktail sausages or meatballs for the sceptics. Naturally, it all ends with strawberry cake - or simply a bowl of fresh strawberries with ice cream or milk. It doesn’t get more Swedish than that.
AI-generated photos of Midsummer's Eve.
What to Wear on Midsummer?
In some areas, traditional folk dress is worn with pride, while elsewhere it's light summer attire – linen trousers, dresses, polo shirts. Many begin the day looking stylish and cool, but by evening, emergency trousers come out when the temperature drops to ten degrees. It’s not uncommon to see someone in a floral dress and a down gilet, or men in shorts and a thin puffer jacket, after 9pm.
The flower crown, however, is universal. Women, men, children and occasionally dogs wear these floral wreaths with pride, usually handmade from flowers picked that morning (or, last-minute, bought from the local supermarket).
Games, Dancing, and a Mosquito Banquet
After the meal, the festivities truly begin. The Midsummer pole – Sweden’s version of a maypole – is raised on the village green or someone’s lawn, typically to the sound of applause and a touch of anxiety that it might topple over. Around it, people of all ages dance in circles to traditional songs. "The Little Frogs" is the most famous, perhaps thanks to Alicia Vikander’s explanation of the bizarre frog dance to a bemused Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. But there are many more songs: "We Are Musicians," "The Carousel," and "The Fox Hastens Across the Ice" (yes, even in summer) – all complete with choreographed movements and absolutely no rhythm required.
From there it’s on to the games: kubb (a wooden lawn game), tug-of-war, welly throwing, pentathlons, and quizzes. Anything can be turned into a competition.
Schnapps, Songs, and Surprisingly Good Harmonies
With herring comes schnapps – it’s tradition. O.P. Anderson is the most iconic, but Midsummer schnapps comes in many forms and flavours: Skåne Akvavit, Hallands Fläder, and homemade infusions that taste like bottled summer. But really, it’s not the schnapps that matters – it’s the songs. Before each little tipple, you sing a schnapps song. Group singing is the only acceptable format. Classics like "Helan går," "Nu tar vi den," and "Lille sup" ring out across meadows and patios.
Midsummer’s Eve – The Year’s Most Unreliable Forecast?
Can you predict the weather on Midsummer’s Eve in Sweden? Absolutely not. The forecast says sunshine, but 18 hours later, fifteen people are huddled under a party tent in blankets and rain ponchos. Hoping for sun and being disappointed is practically a tradition in itself. Still, we refuse to give up our breezy summer outfits. We barbecue in the rain, dance in the mud and curse the mosquitoes. And we happily do it all over again, year after year.
So What Makes Midsummer Sweden’s Biggest Celebration?
Perhaps it’s the blend: togetherness, singalongs and schnapps, ritual dances and utter chaos in the dress code, pickled herring and flowers in your hair. It’s a holiday where everyone is welcome. So the next time you see someone hopping like a frog with a flower crown on their head and a piece of herring in hand – don’t be surprised. It’s just a Swede celebrating Midsummer.
