I Want to Be in Sweden!

I was an exchange student to Sweden in high school & ever since then, it's been my "second home" -- a place I really feel at home, not just a visitor passing through. I don't think there's any time of year where I'd turn down the offer of being able to go back ("here's a plane ticket; off you go"), but that pull is especially strong this time of year and particularly strong today.

Why today?

Because today is Midsummer. The summer solstice. The longest day/shortest night of the year. When you live so far north, there are times of the year when there isn't much daylight. The flip side of that is the summertime, when there is lots of sun. Above the arctic circle, the sun won't disappear at all today. For areas a wee bit farther south (e.g. Stockholm & its environs), it'll get dusky around 11:00 pm or so & remain twilight-like until about 3:00 am-ish, when the sun will come back up. In general, Swedes know how to make the most of this fact, enjoying the summer with a zeal most of us probably will never know. Midsummer is the epitome of that enjoyment.

First off, today is a national holiday. A 3-day weekend? Yeah, I could go for that. :-)

Second, there will be festivals all over the country. Actually, for many, Midsummer is second only to Christmas as far as its importance, but unlike Christmas, Midsummer is often celebrated with friends and/or extended families; the more, the merrier! It's a time to be outside, surrounded by friends and family, enjoying the long sunlit evenings, the first fruits of summer, good company, etc.

I wish you all a Good Midsummer. May you enjoy a wonderful evening in whatever way you'd like. For me, I'll do my own version of midsummer albeit not quite like these "make your own midsummer party" directions I found. Mine will be a bit quieter, but, on principle, there will be dancing, if only for a little while, probably on my back patio watching the sun set after I get home tonight.

Oh, and there will be 7 types of wildflowers under my pillow tonight. Or as many as I can find considering I live in the suburbs of a major city & walking in the woods doesn't come easy.