Midsummer – oh what a joyful celebration. Last year we picked flowers, swam in the sea, drank way too much champagne and laughed too loud. And what a beautiful day it was.
The truth is that I’ve never been good with holidays like Christmas and midsummer, they’ve always made me anxious. I think it all boils down to there being so many expectations that it should be this fantastic day. And sometimes, it just isn’t.
As I’ve grown older a lot of the expectations have worn away, maybe it is because I’ve moved to Scotland and celebrations like midsummer aren’t celebrated here. But, I think it has to do with the fact that I’ve stopped putting so much pressure on myself and trying to be happy with what I got around me. It doesn’t have to be a celebration 2.0, it can just be a piece of pavlova with a friend, a small midsummer lunch at home with Patrick, or drinks with pals. To find happiness and being ok with the small or the big.
For context to any non Swede out there Midsummer is a celebration of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year – although midsummer, the party/fun-day, always takes place on a Friday (I hope I’m right here….). It is one of the most celebrated holidays in Sweden. And yes, the maypole is created and raised during the day, and people gather around to dance and sing. The stereotype is real!
Yesterday evening we made a picnic and went down to the river to pick 7 different flowers. A midsummer tradition and one that I always try to do – even though I do not put them underneath my pillow they make for an amazing table decoration. A warm summer night, which ended with a quick swim.
Happy midsummer my friends, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.
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