Flower era surrounds us with desire and felling great on the biggest and Swedish party day of the year, Midsummer Eve! It's just to take care of everything that nature gives and selects what attracts most from our common culture, packed with traditions in everything from food and drink to dance games and flowers under the pillow. Oh well, we don't need to feel anxiety about fake news when we sing that frogs lack both hearing organs and tails. Just like us, the frogs have turned their tails in and they hear well. The flowers under the pillow are of course not a signaling system. They are all about romance and that spice doesn't hurt.
The joy and the experience are given provided we take care of it. Which in turn presupposes that we are available to ourselves and our feelings in the community that the day is for. Midsummer needs our feelings to be genuine and because this day is a fresh commodity, just like any other day, is it good to take the opportunity to celebrate today. Accessibility increases with a mobile phone- and game-free day that we instead dedicate to ourselves and our loved ones. In any case, it might be worth a try.
Traditions are an important part of our culture, with repetition of what we consider to be obvious ingredients for a successful midsummer celebration. They have been passed down from generation to generation with strong roots in farming society. Maybe we should say so far. A little over six months ago I met a young researcher and in a break between work shifts I raised the question of what he liked best on the Christmas table. The Christmas table, he said. What is it? I realized we had different interpretations so I clarified by asking what he liked best about the Christmas food. Because I had my favorites, I realized that there are alternatives. His family celebrated by eating sushi. And watch American movies. I finished the topic!
It is a human right to resort to the traditions you like and it is okay to create new ones.
There is no law that it has to be herring and nubbe, lax, new potatoes and strawberries on the midsummer table. But it is enormously good, even 'unnecessarily good'!
Happy Solstice!
/Helgi Jonsson