Mora midsommar
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Dancing, feasting, drinking and a seemingly endless supply of sunlight: there’s a lot to like about Midsummer in Sweden.
With the possible exception of the weeks leading up to Christmas, the other big festival on the Swedish calendar, it’s the best time of year to be a foreign visitor in the country.
Midsummer – or midsommar – is still a huge deal across Sweden, with people young and old getting together to celebrate, either at large community events or smaller gatherings of friends and family.
Almost everyone gets to finish work early on Midsummer&#;s Eve, leading to a mass exodus from cities like Stockholm and out into the countryside, where meadows full of wild flowers are at their most beautiful.
Plenty of foreign tourists visit Sweden in June, to enjoy this most Swedish of celebrations, with activities such as traditional dancing around a maypole and floral wreath making.
What&#;s Midsummer all about, then?
Swedish Midsummer traditions are thought to have their roots in pre-Christian, sun-worshipping cultures.
The time of year around the summer solstice, when the darkness of night is replaced by a magical twilight, would have held special significance for peopl
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They sometimes say Dalarna is the true Sweden, so there&#;s nowhere better to celebrate Midsummer than Mora in Dalarna. I headed up there in to experience a proper Midsummer&#;s Eve with the locals.
Trouble was, I hadn&#;t a clue where the celebrations were happening in Mora. The websites weren&#;t much help. I did read something about a campsite somewhere in Mora that put up a maypole and celebrated on Midsummer&#;s Eve. So, I popped the campsite address into Google Maps and set off on foot.
Midsummer with the locals
After a tootle on the old brass band, I realised I was still a fair whack from the campsite according to Google Maps. Curiosity, however, got the better of me and I followed the sound of the music. It led me to a little village in Mora where the locals were all celebrating Midsummer together.
There were stalls set up for fika, with all sorts of biscuits on offer – sju sorters kakor, if you&#;re following tradition, which means seven different types. A brass band tootled away, there were choirs belting out tunes, and there was even a little train chugging around the village giving the kids rides.
The maypole
The maypole was all decked out and ready to be
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Midsommar i Mora by
-&#;Du bör inte tro det blir midsommar, ifall inte nå´n sätter fart&#;&#;
15 juni Lördagen före midsommarafton.
Midsommarstången bör tas ned.
Vi behöver flera stora samt starka.
17 juni Måndagen innan midsommar
Rörsträck binds vid Storgårdens gräsmatta och dansbanan kontrolleras.
Vanligen en kul arbete för föräldrar och små människor men oss tar tacksamt emot all hjälp oss kan ett fåtal. Tag tillsammans med sax samt gamla färggranna tyger.
Sågen bör städas samt dansbanan skall läggas ut och kontrolleras.
20 juni Torsdagen dagen innan midsommar
Ut samt plocka blommor till midsommarafton.
Samling nära torget, eklövskransarna skall bindas.
Enligt tradition är detta kvinnfolk likt binder kransarna men självklart är varenda byns Karl Fredrik samt Ernstar välkomna.
Det behövs sågar och alternativt sekatörer samt är ni rädd angående dina sker och naglar så tar du vid dig handskar.
21 juni Midsommarafton
Stången kläs (ta tillsammans med blommor), eklöv hämtas tillsammans med traktor samt vagn. Dansbanan lövas.
En massiv del från stången bör kläs tillsammans eklöv. Traktor med vagn åker ut och samlar eklöv. varenda barn får åka tillsammans med och hjälpa till.
Halva stången ska kläs med blommor så titta till för att ta tillsammans med ett stort fång från blomst