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In this blog post, we will write about why people in Scandinavia celebrate midsummer.
Actually, this has very little to do with faith and very much to do with an astronomical phenomenon.
Midsummer: A Pagan Origin
Midsummer is a feast celebrating the astronomical phenomenon of the Summer solstice, which occurs around the 21st of June each year in the Northern hemisphere.
This is actually the best way to describe it in general and neutral terms, but actually, it is not just about that, since the sun was a divinity in all pagan religions that
precedes the monotheistic religions dominant today, from Egyptian to Norse mythology.
Up in the North, we are told by the 11th-century monk Adam of Bremen that the people in Scandinavia (commonly known as the Vikings) sacrificed animals and men every seventh year; on this day, they offered sacrifices to their false pagan gods.
Luckily, these idols were thrown away and righteously denounced by the people living in Scandinavia when they heard about the One True and Only God (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 44:25)
and what He had done for all humanity (John 3:16-17).
Midsummer: Modern celebration
Even though Christianity prevailed, the midsummer celebration continued and is now observed as the birthday of John the Baptist. This celebration has occurred since at least the 2nd Century A.D.
In modern-day Scandinavia, people used to eat some fish-based meal (in Sweden), dancing around a pole covered in leaves, and drink a lot together with friends and family. The drinking has been a huge problem since the Middle Ages; actually, the Church tried to ban it, but not.
A very funny clip about the Swedish way of celebrating midsummer (made by IKEA) is available on YouTube.
In Sweden, the Church failed to make this holiday a feast commemorating the birth of John the Baptist; in Denmark, Norway, and Finland, there was much greater success. The
midsummer there is known as John the Baptist’s day (Finland) or Saint Hans Day (Norway and Denmark).
The celebration is also somewhat different, since they are using the sauna in Finland, burning paper “witches” in Denmark and Norway, and singing a special song.
Here are more insights about the Midsummer fest you might want to read.
You may also want to plan a surprise Scandinavian-inspired date night around this, and then you can read that article.
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Until then,
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