Happy Midsummer!

This weekend is the Swedish Midsummer, an annual festival to celebrate the beginning of summertime and when flowers begin to flourish. Midsummer is so big in Sweden that it often rivals Christmas and is hugely celebrated by the majority of the population. The festivities includes wearing floral crowns, dancing around a maypole and singing traditional songs while drinking schnapps and eating Midsummer cuisine which usually consists of herring, cheese and potatoes.

Like many ancient festivals, there are many legends and rituals that come with Midsummer. One particular ritual is that young, single women are asked to pick seven different flowers and lay them under them pillow on Midsummer's eve and that night their future husbands will appear to them in a dream. Midsummer is known as a romantic time period for the Swedish - possibly due to the beautiful summer's day and everyone enjoying themselves and because of this, Midsummer is a 

popular time of year to tie the knot.

The Swedish Midsummer celebrations is something that is definitely on my bucket list as it consists of a lot of my favourite things - dancing, singing, alcohol and food, what's not to love? If like me, you cannot make it to Sweden this year, there's still time to celebrate. There's also lots of celebrations going on in the UK, giving you the chance to learn a little bit more about Swedish culture and join in the fun and if that's still too far, why not don a floral crown, get a glass of schnapps and create your own midsummer festival at home? Happy midsummer to my all my Swedish followers and friends, I may not be there this year, but I'll definitely join in one year.

Have you celebrated midsummer before?