Midsommar is the most loved summer tradition amongst Swedes. On 21st June , celebrations pop up in the back garden and summer houses all across the country, we gather with a few friends, raise the midsummer pole and make flower crowns. The event is a relaxed affair until the schnapps comes out that is. What ensues is a frog-like dance around a midsummer pole and a pickled herring frenzy- a great way to celebrate the near endless daylight if you ask us. 

To join the party you don’t have to be a Swede. In fact, I’d recommend giving it a go at home. As it can be a bit tricky to know where to start, I'd like to share a little midsummer party guide: 

Go into pole position

If you’d like to go all the way then you need to start with the midsummer pole. If you’ve mastered the art of putting together an IKEA shelf this will be a breeze (maybe). You will need one long and a slightly shorter piece of wood to make the cross. Hammer the two together using nails. Once you’ve put together your wooden cross, it’s time to decorate it with leaves and flowers. If you can’t find anything suitable nearby I’d recommend going to the florist. Attach the leaves and flowers to the cross with a string. You will need to dig a hole in the garden to fit in the bottom part of the pole to make it stand. Ta da, you did it!

Food essentials

Now, if you’d like to leave out the midsummer pole then that’s absolutely fine, you can simply focus on the food and the flower crowns. For the midsummer buffet, you will need crispbread (knäckebröd) cheese, smoked salmon, meatballs, a salad of your choice, new potatoes, eggs, caviar, dill, herring in different sauces, chives and gräddfil. Gräddfil translates into sour cream but it's not quite a sour cream. In fact, the flavour is quite different so try to order this if you can. Totally Swedish is my go-to source for all Swedish food cravings. Alternatively, a visit to IKEA may be worthwhile. Next, sprinkle the chives on top of the gräddfil and add it as a sauce for the potatoes and herring.

The egg halves are easy to make, all you need to do it so boil the egg until its hard (approximately 8 minutes) after you’ve boiled the egg rinse with cold water which will help you to peel it easier. Then cut it in half on the long side, put a bit of mayonnaise on the yolk, decorate with caviar and spread some dill on top and it’s done. 

For dessert, a strawberry cake is a good seasonal choice. I used a combination of English grocery stores and “Totally Swedish”. What you mainly need to get from the Swedish store is vanilla sugar, (vaniljsocker) which has a different texture and flavour.  Mix approximately 3 cups of double cream with 1 ½ tablespoons of vanilla sugar and whisk until its soft but firm. You need a three-part sponge cake, you can order ready ones from “Totally Swedish”. If you prefer DIY I recommend keeping the layers thin as the Swedish sponge cakes focus on the toppings (who can blame us?). Cover the bottom layer of the sponge cake with vanilla custard and sliced bananas, add the second sponge cake layer and drizzle a bit of strawberry cordial on the sponge to make it moister. Cover this layer with strawberry jam before putting on the final sponge cake layer and here you will cover the top and the sides with the vanilla and cream mix before covering the cake with sliced strawberries. 

Flower crowns

Finally, it's time to make the flower crowns. In  Sweden, you’d pick your own wildflowers but if you buy the flowers from a shop then that’s also absolutely fine. Ideally, you need a few nice leaves to give the crown a base. When you pick the leaves you will need to make sure that you have a thin branch, with this branch you will measure your head to make sure it fits like a crown, tie it together with a bit of thin wire. Once this is done and you are happy with the size it's time to decorate with leaves and flowers. I recommend to start from the back of the crown (where the two ends are tied together) and work your way around adding leaves and flowers along the way as you wrap the wire around the branch.If you need a bit of help there are plenty of youtube videos to watch which will hopefully help. Done! Now you have the perfect set-up for a fantastic midsummer party. 

If you don't want to go through the hassle of planning a party and experience Sweden’s summer vibes first-hand then please get in touch. For more information about our tours please follow the link to Sweden in the summer for our different itineraries.

My travel tip:

As midsummer usually involves being nearby the water we recommend staying around the archipelago which can be reached from Stockholm and Gothenburg. If you’re looking for a multi-country holiday then Copenhagen in Denmark can be joined with a few days in the south of Sweden. Please get in touch if you’d like to start planning a trip to Sweden and we will be happy to guide you through the many options and tailor you a fantastic summer adventure.