Happy,
relaxed and a bit retrospective
At
this unique celebration, adults and children come together to picnic in the
grass, decorate the midsummer pole, make flower wreaths, play traditional games
and Polska dance to authentic fiddle music.
Midsummer,
also known as St John's Day, or Litha, is the period of time
centered upon the summer solstice, and more specifically the Northern
European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice or take place on a day
between June 19 and June 25 and the preceding evening. The exact dates vary
between different cultures. The Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of
the early Christian martyr StJohn the Baptist, and the observance of St John's Day begins the evening
before, known as St John's Eve.
In Sweden the
Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been serious
discussions to make the Midsummer's Eve into the National Day of Sweden, instead of June 6.
It may also be referred to as St. Hans Day.
Read
more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer
The
program presented at the Battery Park featured traditional music by Paul Dahlin
and fiddlers from the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, folk dances
from Barnklubben Elsa Rix and Swedish Folkdancers of New York, and pole dancing
led by Scandinavian folklorist and singer Ross Sutter. Food stands offered
delicacies from New York's finest Swedish restaurants and food purveyors.
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