Midsummer's Eve

Today is the day of the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. The solstice marks the peak of summer and takes place when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. After today, the days get shorter until the winter solstice on December 21 when they start to get longer again.

The day is also called Midsummer's eve and is in Sweden, together with Christmas, the traditionally most celebrated holiday of the year. Midsummer is however without a doubt the most loved of the two. Contrary to Christmas there is no pressures or obligations of consorting with relatives, cooking huge festive meals or buying gifts.

On midsummer you hang out with friends and people you like. No gifts are involved and meals can be extremely simple to prepare but still delicious. Besides the weather is warm, daylight lasts around the clock - almost - and it never gets really dark though.

For meals you can get by with boiling small, new potatoes (preferably just washing them lightly in water first to get the dirt off but without peeling them) with some dill, boiling a couple of eggs, opening one or more cans or jars of pickled herring, pouring up some sour cream and cutting some chive. Nothing more is needed except possibly beer or aquavit for snaps. For dessert you simply use fresh strawberries with some cream and a little sugar (if you must). It's absolutely delicious!

If you wish, you can go out go into the bright summer night and pick seven different kinds of flowers and tuck them under your pillow, so that maybe - if you're lucky - you may dream of your future husband or wife. 

Happy Midsummer, dear friends and readers of Bock in SecondLife!.