June 2024 – Page 2 – Watching the Swedes

Midsummer’s Eve is possibly the biggest public celebration in Sweden, and it’s happening this week on Friday. Swedes gather to eat, drink and be merry together.

So, what are the origins of Midsummer and why is it celebrated?

Sweden has its origins in an agrarian society, and it was on the farms that people started the celebration. Even today, some Swedes don’t consider it Midsummer unless they are ‘på landet’ – in the countryside.

The main purpose for the farmers was to welcome the summertime and the season of fertility, after a long, cold winter. These celebrations began as early as the 500’s. People lit bonfires and visited holy springs where they engaged in games and dancing. This tradition developed to dancing around a decorated maypole sometime in the 1500’s.

In the 1700-1800’s, the celebration of Midsummer spread to the industrial communities where, for example, workers were given pickled herring, beer and snaps. A food tradition that exists today.

Eventually in the 1900’s, Midsummer became a celebration for all Swedes and developed into Sweden’s most Swedish festivity!

On 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was crowned King of Sweden. He was one of the few survivors of the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which his father and 80 other nobles were murdered, Game of Thrones style.

He ruled the country until 1560. During his reign, he released Sweden from the Kalmar Union consisting of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. He also turned Sweden from a catholic country into a Protestant one, with the monarch and not the pope as head of the church.

6 June is another significant day in Swedish history – on 6 June 1809 the country signed a new constitution. This lay the foundation for Sweden’s current status as an independent democracy and was in place until 1974.

The constitution returned political power to the parliament after King Gustav IV Adolph was deposed in a military coup in 1809. He was the last Swedish monarch to rule over Finland. After him, the crown passed not to his children but to his uncle, Charles XIII. Charles had no legitimate heir, which set into motion the quest for a successor. This was found the following year in the person of Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, the first monarch of the present royal house.

For these two reasons, Sweden celebrates its National Day today – June 6th. It was declared in 1983, and was first celebrated as a public holiday in 2005.

The day is celebrated with various events up and down the country.

Month: June 2024

Swedish Midsummer: the origin

Swedish National Day – a new king, an old king, a new constitution and 500 years of independence.