Thousands of people from many walks of life gather in the Slottsskogen Park at Midsummer. The general mood vibrates with some kind of multicultural magic, right here, at this hotspot of the most Swedish of all traditions! Seems like we get to be ONE when we all smile and have fun! A very uplifting experience, so direly needed in these unstable times. A useful historic summary on Midsummer in Sweden:
http://realscandinavia.com/midsummer-...
A quote from it:
The tradition of dancing around the Midsummer pole is an old one, though of course the dances have changed over the centuries. Today organized Swedish Midsummer festivals typically include exhibitions of folk dancing in traditional costumes, as well as ring dances and games for people of all ages to join in. No Midsummer celebration is complete without Små grodorna, a dancing game in which people of all ages hop around the pole while singing about little frogs. The goofiness is part of the fun.
Midsummer was considered to be a time of magic, and anything to do with nature was thought to have a special power. Gathering flowers to weave into wreaths and crowns was a way to harness nature’s magic to ensure good health throughout the year. Even though most people these days probably are unaware of the magical origins of the tradition, weaving crowns of flowers is still a major part of any Midsummer observance.
The magic of Midsummer also extends to the realm of romance. A Swedish verse says: Midsummer night is not long but it sets many cradles to rock.
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