A Swedish Midsummer's Dream

A Little Bit about Växjö

Stockholm would have been the obvious place to visit in Sweden but I decided to give it a miss this time round (although I did spend a day touring Copenhagen) and was happy to let David, my dear friend from University, show me around the vicinity of his hometown, Växjö (I took two days to get the pronunciation right). 

Växjö

Inside Växjö Cathedral 

I was told beforehand that Sweden's not the most religious of countries (apparently, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the dominant religion) but the medieval cathedral which I visited in Växjö left an indelible impression on me. Relatively simple and sparse in the interior compared to the ornate cathedrals of Italy, the altar was a visual treat! This part of Sweden, according to David, is famed for its glasswork and blue-coloured glass was carefully crafted to make images of the various apostles which were placed beside the cross (also made from glass!). 

Midsummer's Eve

When David first found out about the exact dates I'd be spending in Sweden, he jubilantly declared that it 'ought to be considered a massive win by you,' as my stay coincided with Midsommarafton (Midsummer's Eve), one of the most significant holidays of the year in Sweden. Pre-Christian in its origins, the Midsummer has (according to Wikipedia at least) become such an important festival in Sweden that there have been discussions over whether to turn Midsummer's Eve into the National Day of Sweden.

Midsummer's Lunch @ Korrö

We enjoyed a sumptuous buffet lunch at the restaurant where David's girlfriend, Rebecka, works. About a third of the dishes involved salmon (my favourite fish) and another third involved sill (herring) prepared in different ways: pickled with onions, seasoned with mustard or with cream sauce containing fish roe.

After filling our bellies, we proceeded to the garden to watch a trio of musicians perform a combination of Swedish traditional songs as well as one or two English golden oldies. The audience, sharing songsheets among themselves, clapped and sang along, providing a hearty atmosphere to complement the glorious sunshine above. Jokes were told in between songs and David was kind enough to translate them for me. Well, after one of them, he turned to me and laughed, saying, 'Sorry, this can't be translated.'

It's a tradition on midsummer's eve to dance around the maypole, a phallic symbol representing the desire for the Earth's fertility. We were to do so later that night at David's, dancing around a much smaller maypole in his garden along to a song about a little frog. There's also a practice of picking up different kinds of flowers and placing them under your pillow before you sleep on Midsommarafton. Apparently, this will ensure that your dream that night would be of your future spouse! I was too timid to attempt it.

A miniature maypole (courtesy of Rebecka's Mum) that I've brought back to Singapore.

Kicking off the Midsummer's Eve evening celebrations in David's garden.

The Swedish medieval game of Kubb. Players are separated into two groups and participants take turns to throw wooden batons at uniquely-shaped blocks, attempting to knock the latter over. Although the rules of the game are simple enough to understand, the influence of alcohol and psychology plays an important role in determining its outcome.  

With Lydia's friends from IB who played their part in injecting youth into the party.

With David and Martin. Kind of a reunion as one year back, the three of us were at the Stadium of Light watching Bruce Springsteen blow everyone away. I was to discover, to my delight, that Martin's a big Dire Straits fan after 'Darling Pretty' (a Mark Knopfler song from 'Golden Heart') began playing on his iPod.

'This is Midsummer's Eve for you,' Lydia, David's sister, concluded. There were not many of us who were sober at the end of the evening (although I remained so, somewhat surprisingly after all that snaps). Was proud to have been able to teach the 'yaaaaam seng' (our way of doing it in Singapore) to my Swedish friends.

David passionately playing 'La Bamba' into the night. Passion is something that my Swedish friend has in abundance and it's a trait that I'll miss a lot now that we'll no longer get to see each other on a regular basis.

With the Shukur-Arvidsson Family 

Many thanks to David's lovely family for graciously hosting me in their cosy home and for making me feel as welcome as I could possible have been.