by solstice 2012
Reading these words about the annual Juhannus/Midsummer Fest and summer holidays in Finland always make me long to be there:
…the country tends to go on holiday from the Midsummer or Juhannus weekend and Finland is more or less “closed” for the duration. … enjoy the fleeting Finnish summer in peace, eat lots of strawberries, leap into lakes from cottage saunas after a gentle whipping with a birch vihta, go to the festivals large and small that dot the length and breadth of the country, and to return refreshed in late July and August.
I was awake very early this morning, the start of a gorgeous sunny day. It was for me surprisingly very similar to the morning of four years ago, with my very own short and private Juhannus ritual and remembrance, before returning to bed for a little more sleep.
For this I revisited a few of my favourite past midsummer posts, admittedly full of unabashed nostalgia, which a few readers might be interested in:
three midsummer nights in 1983
a midsummer fest in 2009
the longest day
Happy Midsummer or Midwinter! Hauskaa Juhannusta! May it be the start of a wonderful summer in every way.
June 20, 2012 in Culture, Current Events, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric by Marja-Leena
Hauskaa juhannusta.
Solstice is kesäpäivänseisaus. One word. Marja-Leena, you can start your friends Finnish lessons with that word, right?
We have been promised for the Midsummer sun, rain, showers, thunder, cool and warm. I just looked up. Finland is a very long country.
I will close all these electronic communication devices for awhile. Have been setting here too long. Eyes look like tomatoes.
So knowing that you’re also on the coast, I wish you very fine feast and don’t catch cold!
Ripsa, yes three Finnish words all together meaning summer solstice! Like German, Finnish words can get long 🙂
We are lucky to have sun for midsummer in the midst of a wet June, though tomorrow the rains return. Juahnnus is so very important in Finland and Scandinavia whereas here it is not celebrated, except by some of the immigrants such as at our Scandinavian Centre. I miss the ‘kokko’, the bonfire on the beach (like this one)! Good to take a break from technology and get back to nature – Hauskaa Juhannusta!
Just seeing pictures of two favorite kinds of summer flowers brought a smile. Daisies are simply beautiful and peonies are beautifully complex. Life is a marvel and I wish you all the happiness the White Nights can bring.
Susan, thanks so much! When we lived in northern BC for a few years, that was where the summer nights were almost White – but not quite. I think that is why the Nordic people celebrate Midsummer all through the short summer, where others do not.