Midsummer Day in Finland and Sweden Date in the current year: June 22, 2024

Midsummer Day (Midsommardagen in Swedish and Juhannuspäivä in Finnish) is a very important holiday. Different festivals start on the day before Midsummer Day, on Midsummer’s Eve. The major celebration takes place on the eve of the day. Traditional events include wearing folk costumes, raising and dancing around a maypole. The Finnish celebration of Midsummer Day includes consumption of a huge amount of alcohol.

Midsummer Day in Sweden is considered as the day, when magic is the strongest, that is why the celebration gives a great opportunity to look into the future. Young people pick bouquets of seven or nine flowers and lay them under their pillow in hope of dreaming of the upcoming spouse. Another Midsummer tradition is placing greenery over houses and barns, that is supposed to bring good luck and health to the people and livestock.

Finnish celebration of Midsummer Day includes bonfires, cookouts and saunas. Midsummer Day becomes for many Finns the day, when the families go to their countryside cottages by the lake or the sea.