June 6th

It’s Sweden's national day and the Swedish flags day.

The Royal Family always comes to Skansen in Stockholm (the whole event is broadcasted on TV), 
he holds a speech and lots of artists are performing.

Midsummer's eve

One of the most popular festival days in Sweden is Midsummer’s eve. It is an old pagan celebration from the Viking Era. Once dedicated to the Norse fertility goddess Freya, the longest day of the year is today celebrated on the weekend closest to June 24, St. John the Baptists Day . Originally it was a fertility rite, where the May pole was a phallic symbol, impregnating Mother Nature. The pole thought that it would help to get good harvest in the autumn. The day of Midsummer’s eve is on the longest day of the year (summer solstice), signifying that summer has reached halfway point.

Throughout Sweden, families and friends gather  to decorate the maypole with birch leaves and wildflowers, make flower crowns for women and girls, dance around the maypole, sing summer songs and feast on  pickled herring, new potatoes, and aquavit. In addition, many families have their own special foods that they traditionally serve to round out the Midsummer meal. These are usually dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and easily served outdoors, such as vegetable quiche, vegetable terrine, meatballs, or prinskorv, tiny smoked sausages, often accompanied by a wedge of cheese, bread and a green salad.

Midsummer would not be Midsummer without strawberries, preferably Swedish strawberries, served with sugar and whipped cream.