In
The Outdoors
Merry Midsummer - Sylvia
Kinnunen
Many countries will soon be
celebrating Midsummer Day, which is the time of the summer
solstice when the sun is highest in the sky and the day is the longest
of the year in the northern hemisphere. It will be celebrated in Marquette
at Presque Isle Park on June 24, according to the Scan-dinavian custom.
The longest day is not necessarily on June 24 every year, but inasmuch
as everyone wants to celebrate the holiday, the Scandinavians decided
to observe it on the Saturday which falls between June 20 and June
26 which this year happens to be June 24.
Midsummer's Day was celebrated with interesting activities
and superstitious rites well before Christianity spread across European
countries. Then the church fath-ers had mixed feelings about people
continuing pagan customs; they felt a religious element should be
added to the celebration, or perhaps supplant it. Since the feast
of St. John the Baptist falls on June 24, the church encouraged the
simultaneous celebration of the summer solstice and St. John's Day.
In Finland, for example, the name of the holiday became
"Juhannus," which means John, but to the Swedes it is still
"Midsom-mar." Finland actually has another element added
to this holiday; it is their Flag Day when their white flag with its
blue cross is flown throughout the land from 6:00 a.m. on Midsummer's
Eve to 9:00 p.m. the next day.
In Scandinavia, people flock to the countryside for Midsummer,
going to their cottages by a lake or a river. After the many months
of short days and long nights they revel in the long hours of daylight.
This is a time to be outdoors and to commune with nature. For those
who must stay at home in cities or towns, the ambiance changes, for
the streets are no longer crowded, traffic has decreased and flowers
and birch branches can be bought to fill the house with the midsummer
spirit.
Some preparations are necessary for the celebration. Knowing
the Scandinavian work ethic, I suspect the sauna, the cottage and
the house are all cleaned from top to bottom a week or so before the
event. The national costumes, which are worn by everyone who has one,
are aired, pressed and carefully examined for moth damage since most
of the costumes are made of wool. The birch branches are gathered.
Children go out to collect wild flowers: black-eyed Susans, daisies,
buttercups, lillies of the valley (Finland's national flower), and
any others not protected by law. Garlands to slip over cows' horns
are made in some rural areas; any cow that comes home on Midsummer
Day still wearing her circlet of birch branches is petted and given
her garland to eat as a tasty snack.
On the 24th, bonfires dot the shores of lakes and when
the fire is burning, young and old dance around it. Waltzes, polkas
and schottisches with their 1-2-3-hop are popular, but children may
dance with more abandon. In Sweden instead of dancing around a fire
or kokko, folks dance around a Midsummer Pole called a Majistang,
which is a very tall pole with crosspieces hung with wreaths of wildflowers
and sprays of flowering shrubs and birches. The dancers holding hands
form circles around the pole with young and old participating. The
most popular instrument for accompaniment seems to be the accordion,
although fiddlers and other instrumentalists may join in, too. Familiar
folk tunes and even children's songs are played during the dancing
period. If there is a dance platform or a nice piece of level ground
nearby, old folk dances may be performed by special groups. On Selkasaari,
an island just off the coast of Helsinki, people are charged admission
and they expect not only a bonfire but lots of music and dancing and
probably a wedding.
Midsummer Day is called St. Jean's Day in France. There,
too, the bonfire was mandatory at least until 1930. The priests usually
blessed the fires and folks took the ashes to keep their dwellings
safe from fire for the following year. According to an item in the
Mining Journal (June 23, 1938) a customary celebration was not going
to be held in town. "There was a time when Midsum-mer's Day and
the picnic of St. Jean the Baptiste Society were synonymous. There
was a time [even in 1937] when flags flew, bands played, children
yelled, the men marched and the ladies brewed pea soup. But it's changed…
The French are not going to have a picnic!"
In Spain in the Pyrenees, jumpers leap over the flames,
pull brands from the fire and carry them aloft as they dance.
Ashes sprinkled on corn fields cause the corn to grow
very well, and if seeds are planted at midnight, spectacular germination
can be expected.
In Germany, on Sommersonenwende/ Johannisnacht, the "Let's
leap over the fire"activity was supposed to bring good luck to
the leaper. Anyone who didn't leap high enough or far enough certainly
might have debated this point, but perhaps the fires were built the
right size to permit success. Cows were led through the ashes to ensure
that they'd have fat calves and produce lots of milk for the coming
year. In some communities wreaths were hung on the door in the belief
that St. John walked the streets that night and bowed at each door
sporting a wreath.
Flowers are strewn into pools where folks in Mexico have
swimming parties. Musi-cians add to the festivities and there is typical
Mexican food—coffee and tamales.
Peruvians celebrate the festival of the Incan Sun God,
St. John's Day and the winter solstice with bonfires, but they do
something different. They toss their old clothes into the fire to
ensure that they won't need them any more, that the coming year will
be free of poverty.
Many pagan superstitions are practiced elsewhere just
for fun on this holiday. In Paraguay, young people try tossing one
of their shoes over their house. If it lands up-side down, the young
woman or man will not marry during the coming years. Placing a laurel
cross under one's pillow at night will bring dreams of a future lover.
(Married people are not encouraged to do this.) In Sweden, the white
of an egg may be dropped into a glass of cold water in the evening,
and the next morning the shape it takes will provide clues for the
future. Molten lead or candle drippings dropped into a pail of cold
water provide the same information without the overnight wait.
Walking barefoot over embers that have been raked into
roughly a ten-foot path is practiced both in Paraguay and Spain. In
Spain the brave walker is expected to carry someone on his back—that
person needs to be brave also. This practice adds drama to the occasion.
In Finland although the kokko is the highlight of the
day, the sauna is also an integral part. People relax in groups in
the sauna chatting, beating each other lightly with their bundles
of foot-long birch branches, perhaps eating some sauna makkara (sau-sage),
and then cooling off in a nearby lake. Then back to the sauna!
In Marquette, the second annual Scan-dinavian Midsummer
Festival will be held at the Presque Isle Bandshell from 10:00 a.m.
until dark.
The bandshell will be decorated with birches and wildflowers
providing a pleasant background for programmed events. Musicians,
singers and folk dancers from the U.P. will perform throughout the
day. The program will be emceed by Richard Salo of Gladstone, chairman
of the Finnish American League.
A tori (marketplace) with Scandinavian items of both the
practical and gift-giving types will be set up. Coffee and pulla (cardamom
bread) will be available throughout the day.
Weaving, basket weaving, snowshoe making, copper-smithing
and other crafts will be demonstrated (interested crafters call 227-7387
to sign up).
The morning activities will begin at 10:00 with Scandinavian
music. Pretty young and not-so-young ladies will model folk costumes
at 11:00; Tanya Stanaway and Waino Salo will perform at noon. Between
the musical presentations drawings for door prizes will be held. Paavo
Hilka and some of her friends will take the stage at 1:00 p.m. followed
by Les Ross at 2:00 and Anna Kulju and her singers at 3:00.
Inasmuch as this is a combination Mid-summer Festival
and celebration of St. John's life, a vesper service will be led by
Rev. Rudolph Kemppainen and Pastor Arde Johnson at 4:00 p.m.
The Northwoods will cater an ethnic picnic supper at 5:00
p.m., with traditional Scandinavian foods. Reservations for the meal
may be made by calling 225-5784; the cost is $5 in advance or $6.95
at the event.
After the supper, the Marquette Folk Dancers, under the
leadership of Bob Rai-ley, will perform. Then Mary Wright and participants
will share information about her clothes line project to be held in
Toronto in July.
Dance music will be provided by Ron Jarvinen and Bob Hamalainen
at 8:00 p.m.
The grand finale is the kokko, which will be lighted at
10:15. If Heikki Lunta should appear, he'll politely be asked to leave.
A kokko is no place for him! And everyone is notified that there shall
be no leaping over the fire, nor walking through the embers. We're
doing this with proper Scandinavian decorum!
This program is subject to revision.
Everyone is most cordially invited to attend the festivities
on June 24. There is no admission charge, but bring a happy heart,
for summer is here.
—Sylvia Kinnunen
