On Midsommars Afton (Midsummer Eve) we drove to the little town of Lid in Södermansland to celebrate Midsommar with Eva Tjörnebo and Kjell Landström and friends. We got there 15 minutes early, so we behaved like real Swedes and found something to do, so that we did not come even a minute too early. Lid has a church from 1300s or so, which in Södermansland typically have their bell tower separate from the actual church. This practice leaves the bell tower intact should the church burn. This is important because the bell tower was the community’s means of sounding alarms about fires and any other sudden emergencies.
Typical of many medieval churches in Sweden, the ceiling has been decorated with painting of various scenes – in this case of devils being driven out by Archangel Michael. Despite being in a tiny village of only 200 people, this church is quite well-known, as the paintings are by the most famous practitioner of this style, Albertus Pictor.
Here is our host’s home, a typical red-painted house, with white trim and a reddish-orange tile roof. Missing from this archetypical Södermanland scene is a large Swedish flag on a white flagpole. The house was built sometime in the 1700s.
The first “official” activity was to provide the music for “playing up” Lid’s Midsommarstång--like a Maypole, but with flowers and no ribbons. After the pole is upright, people spend the next 30-60 minutes dancing around it. Ever since Eva and Kjell moved to Lid, they and their friends have “played up” the Midsummer Pole and provided the traditional music for the dancing.
After the Midsummer Pole gig the next agenda item was a very unusual event, escorting a bridal pair, and their bowtie-wearing dog, to a surprise wedding in a neighboring house. Of course, this required a bit of practice and meeting the priest, while awaiting the bride and groom’s arrival. This involved both of them sneaking out of their parent’s home, where there was already a party in progress.
After surprising all the relatives with the arrival of a marching band of nyckelharpas, (not to mention the unexpected wedding!), a traditional wedding song was performed. Then the nyckelharpa band marched back to Eva’s and Kjell’s home for the main activity—eating and drinking!
Then, after the first round of food, brännevin (akvavit, taken neat, with a Pan-Nordic addition from Sheila of a bottle of Icelandic brännevin, seasoned with some moss from the highlands of Iceland, a real “taste of Iceland”) and accompanying snapsvisor (drinking songs), the increasing “breeze” instigated a chorus of “There’s a Cold Wind Blowing from the Sea” and it was time to head to the “back porch” for dessert and to watch the local bunch of rådjur (red deer) browse their way across our view.
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