Thursday, June 22, 2017 The long pipes have now been laid and sand and gravel laid over them. Here there remains only to asphalt the street. This evening is midsummer evening. It is the most celebrated day/evening in Sweden. People decorate a cross shaped pole (often called May pole in English, but midsummer pole in Swedish) with flowers and greenery. A large ring of flowers hangs from each arm. The pole is raised. Then there's music, singing and dancing around the pole. There's a lot of food, but especially herring and strong drink. In some places bonfires are lit to keep evil spirits away. Most of the traditions are very old. The earliest mention is from the Icelandic sagas (around 1100), but some traditions are surely much older, some being before Christianity came to Scandinavia. There are some aspects of wishing a good harvest, though there is no suggestion of fertility rites (that myth came with the Freudians desire to interpret the pole as a phallus symbol. Shame on them!). You can find more about the Swedish celebration of midsummer on the Internet. Unfortunately I don't have any own photos from a midsummer celebration. Enjoy!