Midsummer Magic...

If a maiden picks seven different wildflowers on Midsummer night, without speaking a word until the morning, and sleeps with the flowers under her pillow, she can see the man she will marry in her dreams.



Now, I’m not looking to get married anytime soon, lol, but it’s a cute tradition I like to do with my baby sister out in the meadow every summer on Midsummer’s Eve.

Flowers are an important part of midsummer. They’re often made into crowns or wreaths to decorate doors or houses, because in the past, they were believed to ward off evil spirits.

It was also believed, in the olden days, that the direction in which the smoke from the Midsummer bonfire (kokko in Finnish :D) blew were a person who was soon to be married.

And the funniest old tradition that I know of (although I haven’t ever heard, or thank goodness, seen, anyone do this) is that if you roll around naked on your crush’s meadow (or garden, I guess), that person will fall in love with you.

 


Yeah, old traditions, myths and folk stories are wacky. But oh, so much fun!! Midsummer, or Juhannus, in Finland, is all about love, laughter, making flower crowns, asking the gods, or God, depending on the person, for fertility and a good harvest, running from the steaming hot sauna to skinny dip in the lake, oh, and eating all the food. All the food.

Does your country or community have any funny traditions or believe in folk magic?

At midnight tonight, I’m venturing out into the woods to see if I can find any fairies, magical fern flowers, or trolls hiding under a wooden bridge. Wish me luck… And have a mystical midsummer, even if you aren’t celebrating!