Celebrating midsummer in Sweden? This is how to make the most of the summer solstice like a local.
Ever since I first heard about the summer solstice festival of Midsummer in Sweden, I wanted to come and celebrate it. There is something romantic about the idea of people dressed up in traditional dresses and flower crowns, dancing around a pole drinking snaps. The midsummer of 2020 was a slightly unique holiday festival, but we managed to make the most of it. Living on the West Coast, we took the sailing boat out to one of the islands in the archipelago for a really celebration of the sun.
What is midsummer
Midsummer in Sweden is the celebration of the summer solstice, where friends and families usually meet up in big groups for festivities on both Midsummer and Misummers Eve. If you don’t know much about the holiday of Midsummer, Sweden’s tourism board has a great article about the history and traditions!
Midsummer usually takes place on a Friday, that which is closest to the summer solstice in Sweden (usually Week 25). The entire weekend is treated as a public holiday, with the Friday – Midsummers Eve – being the start of the celebration.
How To Celebrate Midsummer Holiday on the West Coast
The day before Midsummer Eve we met up with a group of friends and headed out to into the archipelago to make the most of the holiday. When it comes to Midsummer in Sweden, people are known to known to celebrate out in nature. Swede’s love making the most of the long evenings. We didn’t really have a plan for our celebration but we knew that’s what we wanted to do. We planned to find an uninhabited island and stay there overnight. It is magical to camp on the West Coast of Sweden in the summer time. The evenings are long and the sky lights up pink for hours on end.
We set up a campfire, went for a swim and spent the evening celebrating the summer. This included swimming, fishing, collecting oysters and exploring the island. We set up a campfire and toasted marshmallows while singing traditional songs and dancing on the shore of the ocean. We could not have asked for more perfect weather conditions to celebrate Midsummer in Sweden’s beautiful nature. The wind pretty much stopped when we docked the boat so the sea almost looked flat. There was the most beautiful pink sunset. It reflected on all the native grasses on the island making it seem like paradise!
This a great if you are travelling on a budget and want to celebrate Midsummer in Sweden!
How to Celebrate Midsummer in Sweden at home
We spent Midsummer Eve at home in the countryside, enjoying the fresh air and long evening of the summer solstice! A big part of midsummer at home is playing Kubb – a game where you throw wooden sticks at the other teams sticks to knock them down, and compete until all are gone. Other small competitions are held for games like darts and throwing hoops over polls. They way to celebrate Midsummer is like an exaggerated children’s party full of laughter and dancing!
The afternoon is spend dancing around the Midsummer Pole singing traditional songs and playing games! That was my favourite part! The games involve chasing each other around the garden at full speed until you were either back at the pole, or are caught out!
What To Eat During Midsummer in Sweden
The Midsummer Eve festive table usually consist of a range of Swedish holiday favourites. On the West Coast that is mostly fish! Caviar, pickled herring, or sill, salmon and shrimp sandwiches! There is a special home made bread recipe that Torin’s family bake every year to add to the festive feeling.
During the dinner it is common for the schnapps to come out and traditional songs are sung wile it is being drunk! People often spend the year concocting their own special snaps to add to the Midsummer table. It adds to the celebration when everyone has been preparing for so long!
Ending the Summer Solstice in Sweden
The Midsummer holiday usually plays out into the early morning, with dancing and folk songs keeping everyone awake. As the nights are so short during Midsummer in Sweden, we were able to stay up until the sun rose at 4am. We went down to the harbour for a swim to enjoy the last of the holiday.
Such beautiful photos! I hope one day to spend midsummer in Sweden. Until then I will be dreaming vicariously through these photos!
Thank you so much! It was actually the most magical celebration I have experienced – better than I ever could have imagined!
This looked like so much fun Katie! Now, you have me dreaming of going to Sweden next summer to celebrate Mid Summer. Also all of the food looks so delicious. 🙂
Thanks Taylor! It was the most summery day I could have imagined – if you are here next year you can come and celebrate with us!
We really wanted to do midsummer in Finland this year and this sounds very similar. Eating drinking and swimming. I love your photos of it.
Ahh I can imagine it’s a very similar celebration in Finland! Thank you so much!
I didn’t know much about midsummer, it sounds like a great tradition. I would love to experience it in the future 🙂 Also, I love your pictures!!
It was so much fun, if you are planning on visiting Sweden I recommend coming at the end of June and joining a big celebration!