‘Midsommar’ or Midsummer

On Midsummer’s Eve, always a Friday between 19 – 25 June, Swedes head out to the countryside to spend time with family, friends and as a community. It’s a grand day out – filled with magic. Midsummer celebrations began in the middle ages and they’ve been adapted and adopted by numerous faiths as time has gone along.

Initially, Midsummer was held to welcome summer and the season of fertility. But it was not until 400 years later that Midsummer became the most Swedish of all festivities. The successful Midsummer never-ending lunch party formula involves wearing flowers in one’s hair and a maypole that is raised during the day, which people gather around to dance and sing. This is all after everyone gathers to munch a whole load of pickled herring paired with new potatoes, chives and sour cream and sip on a glass or five of snaps, always partnered with time-honoured snaps songs.

As you may have gathered by now, Midsummer is a magical time to be in Sweden. The Midsummer weekend is already on the bucket list of many travellers who are curious to visit Sweden but if you can time your clients’ trips right to coincide with this time of year, you’ll forever be in their good books. Some of the best places to include in Midsummer itineraries are open air museums such as Skansen in Stockholm, heritage attractions such as castles, manor houses and gardens such as Gunnebo House and Gardens near Gothenburg are open. Staying at a hotel in a rural setting such as Camp Ripan near Kiruna or Hooks Herrgård near Jönköping, Småland or Wanås north of Hässleholm and Kristianstad in Skåne can be a good place to start.

However, the undisputed capital of Midsummer is Dalarna in central Sweden. And if you think of typical images of Sweden: the cute, brightly painted model wooden horses, the red-painted cottage with white gables and people dancing around the Midsummer maypole – they are all from Dalarna. For this reason, if your clients are coming to Sweden especially to enjoy a Midsummer celebration, this is the best region to recommend for them. Across the region there are public gatherings, some of up to 5,000 people, particularly around the region’s largest city: Falun. Rättviks Gammelgård in Rättvik Våmhus gammelgård, Mora and Orsa hembygdsgård in Orsa are also places to have on your radar if you have clients heading to Dalarna for Midsummer.