The Midsummer Festival in Finland
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Midsummer Festival - The Biggest Celebration of "Juhannus"
The Midsummer Festival is the greatest summer Holiday in Finland. The Finns celebrate it from the heart, let themselves loose and welcome the summer.
Cities have official celebrations and festivities, but most Finns gather with family and friends at their summer cottages for a sauna, banquets and the midnight bonfire.
Join the Finns in the celebration of 'Juhannus', as the Midsummer festival is called in Finnish. The name has religious origins; it refers to the commemoration day of St. John the Baptist. The Midsummer Day is celebrated around the summer solstice, on a Saturday between 20th and 26th of June.
This photo is from Seurasaari Midsummer Festival. In front there are dancers with Finnish national costumes on and in the background there is a bonfire called 'Kokko' burning.
Cities have official celebrations and festivities, but most Finns gather with family and friends at their summer cottages for a sauna, banquets and the midnight bonfire.
Join the Finns in the celebration of 'Juhannus', as the Midsummer festival is called in Finnish. The name has religious origins; it refers to the commemoration day of St. John the Baptist. The Midsummer Day is celebrated around the summer solstice, on a Saturday between 20th and 26th of June.
This photo is from Seurasaari Midsummer Festival. In front there are dancers with Finnish national costumes on and in the background there is a bonfire called 'Kokko' burning.
Midnight Sun - The Twilight
Summer Solstice
Midsummer - the summer solstice is the time when daytime is at its longest. In the Northern countries the sun doesn't go down but for a few short hours. And even then it doesn't get very dark but it is more of a twilight. In northern parts of Finland the sun doesn't fully disappear at all. It only makes a dip into the horizon and then starts to rise again.People take advantage of this and stay up late. Midsummer is the time for parties and games. Everyone is happy, people feel like they were re-born after a long dark winter.
Midsummer Eve - The Festivities Begin
Seurasaari - Small Island in front of Helsinki
The biggest Midsummer Festival in the capital area of Finland is held in Seurasaari. This is a small island with a pedestrian bridge in front of Helsinki. Every year 11,000 - 13,000 people who have stayed in the city gather here for dancing, performances and the 'Kokko', the huge bonfire that is lit around 10 pm. During the night there are theatrical performances, singing and traditional dances where people dressed in different national costumes dance folk dances.A Midsummer Wedding
Weddings are also a big part of Midsummer. Most churches in Finland are fully booked a year in advance because so many girls want to be a Midsummer Bride. In Seurasaari there is a romantic 17th-century church named 'Karuna Church'.
One lucky couple will be wed in this church every Midsummer Eve. This is a real wedding, it is not a show for tourists. After getting married the couple will dance a traditional wedding waltz in front of the audience, and then a long, old-fashioned rowing boat will take them to light the over 10-metre-high main bonfire.
Seurasaari Kokko - 10-metre high bonfire.
Kokko - The Bonfire
The preparation for the Midsummer Bonfire must begin early since lots of timber, scrap wood, old boats and dry branches need to be gathered to make a big fire. Usually it is set on a float in a lake or seashore.
The tradition of lighting a bonfire started in Finland in 1800's. The fire was supposed to scare off the evil spirits. Nowadays it is mostly just an exiting event that brings people together.
When the time comes to set the bonfire alight everyone gathers around to see it. The fire will give the spectators nice warmth since it is often still quite cool at night in June in Finland.
The tradition of lighting a bonfire started in Finland in 1800's. The fire was supposed to scare off the evil spirits. Nowadays it is mostly just an exiting event that brings people together.
When the time comes to set the bonfire alight everyone gathers around to see it. The fire will give the spectators nice warmth since it is often still quite cool at night in June in Finland.
Finnish Flags - Important Feature Of the Midsummer Holiday
The Finnish Flag is raised in the flagpole on Midsummer Eve for the Midsummer Day. It is a public holiday and most businesses are closed.
Summer Cottages - The Favorite Place To Celebrate Midsummer
Most Finns choose to celebrate the Midsummer Festival at the countryside. They head to their summer cottages, many of which are situated by a lake. There are more than 187, 000 lakes in Finland so there is room for many cabins. Friends and family members get together, they bring food and drinks, maybe a few tents to accommodate everyone. Not that they were planning on getting much sleep, but still.During the Midsummer Festival cottages and houses are decorated with aspen leaves to bring in good smell and two small birches are planted at the entrance, one on each side of the door.
The Midsummer Feast
Finnish people like to have a feast at Midsummer. Lots of different kinds of fish are on offer prepared in many ways; herring, whitefish, perch, salmon and northern pike.Best of all is thick sausages grilled on open fire, eaten straight from the stick with lots of strong mustard. Small spring potatoes boiled with a bunch of dill, salads and rye bread are on the table. Wine, beer and spirits are flowing.
First strawberries of the summer are served with whipped cream or ice cream for the dessert.
Midsummer Tradition - Sauna
Most summer cottages in Finland have a sauna either attached to the cabin or, if you are lucky, a separate sauna building close to the lake. Before going to sauna men usually prepare a 'vihta'. This is a bunch of birch branches tied together. This 'vihta' is then soaked in the hot water in the sauna. While sitting in sauna and enjoying the steam and heat from the hot rocks you can then whisk yourself or your friend on the back with the 'vihta'. This is invigorating and smells really nice because the birch leaves extract their odor.
From the sauna you jump straight to the lake for a refreshing swim. Many continue like this for an hour or even longer. It feels so nice to go from the relaxing heat in the sauna to the invigorating cool lake water and back for another round.
Usually people go to the sauna in separate groups of women or men, since it is customary to bathe in sauna and have a swim naked.
Making of 'Vihta' from birch branches.
Sauna - How to Bathe and Use a Bath Whisk - the 'Vihta'
Use of plants in sauna and footbaths
Showing a Typical Sauna and A Dip in a Lake
powered by Youtube
Books About Sauna And Sauna Products
The Birch Tree
The birch has a very important role in the Finnish landscape. Many estates in the country side have a long drive way lined with birch trees leading up to the house.
Here is a beautiful artwork featuring the birch. It has a very Scandinavian feel to it.
Birch Silhouette II
Buy From Art.com
Here is a beautiful artwork featuring the birch. It has a very Scandinavian feel to it.
Birch Silhouette II
Buy From Art.com
Superstitions
Midsummer Night is the time when magic happens. All kinds of pagan rituals were popular in the early 1900's. Modern city people don't believe in this kind of magic.
Midsummer Superstitions
See your future husband!
Here are some superstitions that people especially in the olden times took quite seriously. Girls were so anxious to meet their future husband, that they believed in all kinds of superstitions. All these tricks needed to be conjured at Midsummer Night. Vote for the funniest!
You will get good luck in finding a husband if you roll around naked in a dew-sprinkled meadow.
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If you walk around a three-sided field naked, on the third round you will meet your future husband.
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Looking into a well or a pond while being nude you can see your future husband's face.
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If you sweep your bedroom floor naked with only a red thread on your waist your future husband's spirit will visit you.
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You will dream about your future husband if you gather 7 different wild flowers and put them under your pillow for the night.
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You can have a dream of your future husband if you go to sleep with a left foot sock on inside out.
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The smoke from the Midsummer Bonfire will turn to the girl who will get married next.
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The top of the Midsummer Bonfire will fall down in the direction of the house where the next bride lives.
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Put two mirrors facing each other and you can see your future partner in the other mirror.
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If you run clockwise around the biggest rock on the yard with a bible in hand during Midsummer Eve, then if you return at night you'll see your future husband.
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Listen to the call of the cuckoo, how many times you hear it, that many years you have to wait for your husband. If you can't hear any, then you'll meet your husband this year.
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Sleep with a coin under your head and in the morning get up and start walking on the street. First man to come across will be your husband.
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Bellflower
This is a common wildflower in Finland
This Bellflower is one of the wildflowers that girls pick to place under the pillow for the night on the Eve of Midsummer in hope of dreaming of their future husband.
Finnish Folk Dance Video
These kind of dances are performed in Seurasaari and other Midsummer Festivals.
Modern Folk Songs by Värttinä
Want To Visit Finland?
Here are some great travel guides
I Love Midsummer In Finland Because It Means The Summer Has Just Begun!
Have you ever been to sauna?
Please leave a comment and don't forget to rate this lens. I'd love to hear from you.
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celestialelff Jun 3, 2011 @ 4:49 am | delete
- Wonderful Lens thankyou :D Thought you might like to see my British account of King Arthur's Summer Solstice at Stonehenge machinima film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wuNE5M01ME Bright Blessings, elf ~
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M_S_Beltran
May 10, 2011 @ 12:22 pm | delete
- Really great lens; you make me wish I could book my vacation right now! Lensrolled for my Midsummer lens. If I can't go, maybe someone else can.
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S Kako
Jun 23, 2010 @ 9:20 am | delete
- Thank you for the very helpful information. My children are 1/2 Finn and we look forward to celebrating Midsummer!
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lostinfiction
Mar 25, 2010 @ 9:22 pm | delete
- I love learning about Finnish culture, so it was a treat to look through this lens! (One of my best friends is Finnish too, so I've learnt a lot from her) Btw, I posted a little article about Richard Branson and his reading influences as you had requested earlier. You can read it here: http://www.squidoo.com/author_influences Enjoy! :)
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poutine
Nov 22, 2009 @ 5:33 pm | delete
- Very interesting to read about midsumer festival in Finland.
Lovely lens. A 5++
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Ramkitten
Oct 13, 2009 @ 6:56 pm | delete
- Very nice lens! I know little about Finland and was there for only a day, in Helsinki. It's a country I definitely hope to return to for a much longer visit.
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seashell2
Oct 5, 2009 @ 3:14 pm | delete
- Very interesting to read... nice job!
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grannysage
Aug 13, 2009 @ 8:31 pm | delete
- Yah, this half Finn, half Swede has had lots of saunas. I love that the Finns are still celebrating Midsummer in Finland. It was originally a pagan holiday, and who is to say the little folk aren't dancing along too? I can just smell all those fish cooking too. My dad would have loved it. Wonderful lens.
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Tuula_Olin
Hi there! I am a Finnish-born digital publisher and freelance writer from Brisbane, Australia. I lived 30 years in Finland before heading for sunny Queensland.... more »
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