Midsummer is a big deal in Sweden, though the Swedes don’t really seem to care when it’s observed, as long as there’s plenty of drink, food, flowers, dancing and bonfires.

Midsummer’s Eve, of course, is tied to the summer solstice and marked by free-flowing vodka, prognostications of the identities future lovers, fertility rituals and the wider celebration of nature. The Swedes set aside the Friday between June 19 and 25 to don wreaths, carouse around the maypole and eat strawberry cake. The day is a national holiday.

This year, it just so happened to coincide with Midsummer celebrations in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Quebec, all of which celebrate on June 24, the date recognized as the solstice by the Romans. Other countries to celebrate Midsummer include those of the British Isles, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russian, France, Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula.

Half of Europe has been sleeping it off today. Skål to our Swedish friends!

Click here to learn how to celebrate Midsummer like a real Swede:

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/blogs/how-celebrate-midsummer-like-real-swede

A demonstration of some authentic Swedish “snapsvisor” (drinking songs):

Hugo Alfvén’s “Midsummer Vigil”: