Swedish Midsommar at The Farm

Midsommar (Midsummer) may very well be one of the most precious holidays in Sweden, a time when the days never end, where you gather your loved ones to eat, dance and sing together dressed in flower crowns and smiles.

And yes, well aware of that it is currently winter in New Zealand, and that the daylight does not shine at midnight – the Farm decided to take on the opportunity to share this cultural experience never the less!

The idea came from four Swedes currently volunteering at the Farm, all slightly jealous at the thought of their friends back home in Sweden who were planning to head out to the archipelago with all their friends for this holiday. The first thought was just to celebrate midsummer themselves here, but with the realization and hope that other Scandinavians still in NZ felt the same longing, it was decided to share the event with all who wanted to join! Said and done (Swedish expression), the invitations went out and the bookings came in. The interest to bring this Swedish tradition to the other side of the world and defy the winter darkness led to an amazing two-day event with everything you could wish for as a Swede on the other side of the world – or as a non-swede as well for that matter.

On the day of arrival, the Farm volunteers had worked all week to prep the location, setting up tables, cooking food, fishing for the traditional ‘sill’ (pickled hearing) and making goodie bags with Swedish candy, so when the guests arrived they were treated with a small tour at the farm and a bit of mingling before the first Swedish meal was served: kroppkaka was on the menu for the first dinner, a potato dough stuffed with mince or mushrooms served with lingonberry jam. An absolute success and we were blessed with a lovely evening getting to know each other by the bonfire.

The next morning, some early birds got up to prepare the Swedish breakfast, which is the same as to make everything you want for breakfast and have it all at once! Swedish knäckebröd (hard bread), eggs, kalles caviar, cheese, yogurt, granola, fruit salad, pancakes, p&b – you name it! To wash the food down, the mimosa bar opened and the flower crown workshop was on with Swedish music in the background. Together with unexpected sunshine and blue skies, the feeling os summer was undeniable.

When the crows were finishes, the tradition of dressing the maypole (as the name maypole comes from the word ‘Maya’ which means ‘to dress in leaves’) was next on the schedule.

Well dressed in green, it was then carried to one of the nearby paddocks followed by all of us. The nonswedes had a laugh at what was to come next – the traditional dance around the maypole! The most famous song and dance ‘little frogs’ were surely a favorite of many. The pictures speak for themselves…

After a game of throw the gumboot, everyone was ready for perhaps the highlight of midsummer:
THE FOOD!

Accompanies by the snaps. Many cultures drink to sing, but singing to drink is a purely Swedish tradition. At any time, someone at the table can stand up and propose the next ‘snapsvisa’ (snaps-song), which could all be found in the songbook that had been handed out the night before. Odd songs with made-up lyrics all end in a big ‘skååål!!!!’ (cheeeers!!) before everyone is to take a small shot that was made with different flavors.

One could think that this would be the end of it, but no one can claim to have made it through the full midsummer experience without running around with a spoon in their mouth balancing an egg – yes you read it, let the games begin!

After a day filled with activities, culture, laughter, dancing, flowers and food  - a party in the woolshed was on the schedule, with barbecue food for those whose stomachs had any place left for more food.

All in all, the weekend was an absolute success and we are so happy to have taken the chance to celebrate it with all who were here and made it feel like a real Swedish midsummer, and in the words of one of the attending guests – the best one ever!!! It really warmed our hearts to bring together lots of people from all over the country and from the world to share culture with each other. Already looking forward to the next opportunity to bring some other tradition to the farm!

Here is a link to many more photos of the event:
https://www.dropbox.com/midsommar
 

Much love, The Farm Family