The Blogfathers

Today is Midsummer Eve in Sweden, the most celebrated holiday of the year in this country. The festivities goes back longer than anyone can remember and it marks the “beginning” of the summer. The crazy Swedes dance around the maypole, dress up in old fashioned clothing, eat pickled herring with fresh potatoes, sing weird drinking songs, and drink “snaps” of vodka or akvavit. Not just a few, LOTS of them.

The Swedish summer is not long but it’s very nice. You might have heard of the Northern Lights which are world famous and present in the north during the cold winters. You won’t find these lights in the summer but the light is still magical. The location of the country, far north in case you slept through geography lessons, basically makes the sun stay up 24/7 during this part of the year. Day and night simply blend together. This is particularly true in the northern part of the country, near the Arctic Circle.

Although the summers are great, they present some great challenges with children. Because of the extreme light, getting children to bed demands extreme patience. I totally understand their confusion. Go outside 3 pm a normal summer day, when the sun is bright and still high on the horizon, and tell your kids it’s time for bed. You’re not likely to be taken seriously. It’s a struggle every single day. We have a summer house by the lake in the north and my wife is still unable to sleep unless I cover up the windows with black towels.

How bright is it in the northern parts? Today, the sun rises at 01.12 and sets at 24.02. That means the sun rises just after midnight, stays up the whole day and briefly goes under the horizon around midnight. And then rises again. Sitting by the lake, having a few drinks, basking in the sun late in the evening, and enjoying the quietness is just really relaxing.

If you ever visit this country, come in the summer. The mood of the Swedes is very upbeat and positive. And don’t miss all those stunning blond women a visit to one of the island’s in the archipelago. Perhaps accompanied by some traditional Swedish food and countless snaps. I must warn you about the Swedes drinking habits and often high tolerance of alcohol.

We’re not like the Russians, who like to drink gasoline tasting vodka straight out of the bottle, but we do like to drink a lot. Our regular boring behavior have a tendency of becoming funnier after 10-15 beers and numerous shots. And the drinking songs (snapsvisor in Swedish), usually performed by people who can actually sing very well, can be seen as weird by many.

If you can’t make it to Sweden there is a nice celebration each year in Battery Park, NYC which usually attracts about 5000 families and snaps craving Swedes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s late afternoon and the celebrations must begin.

Skål!

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