In Canada, we all look forward to Canada Day (July 1). It represents the start of summer, and for me a day of eating poutine and eggs for breakfast, drinking strawberry margaritas and - if still awake at 9pm - watching the fireworks. It also represents the start of at least one holiday a month leading up to Christmas!!! (August long, Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, CHRISTMAS).
In Denmark it is kinda the opposite - all the holidays of the year are officially over now until Christmas. The last one was at the start of June, so I guess you can say that the midsummer festival here (which is not a holiday) represents the end of the holiday season.
Side note - midsummer in Sweden is a holiday.
Back to Denmark for now and a short discussion on the midsummer holiday called SanktHans. Instead of me trying to explain what the holiday is, i will start with a short description from the ever trustworthy wikipedia -
In Denmark, the solstitial celebration is called Sankt Hans aften ("St. John's Eve"). It was an official holiday until 1770, and in accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.
It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional, although bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be close by (i.e. on the shores of lakes and other waterways, parks, etc.) In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth (probably made by the elder women of the family[citation needed]) on the bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witch burnings from 1540 to 1693[citation needed]. This burning sends the "witch" away to Bloksbjerg, the Brocken mountain in the Harz region of Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held on this day. Some Danes regard the relatively new symbolic witch burning as inappropriate.[7][8]
In 1885 Holger Drachmann wrote a midsommervise (Midsummer hymn) called "Vi elsker vort land..." ("We Love Our Country") that is sung with a melody composed by P.E. Lange-Müller at every bonfire on this evening.
The points I really like from this description are as follows:
1. It was an official holiday until 1770 (lol - Canada was not a country then....no even close!). I wonder what made them decide in 1770 to declare the day no longer a holiday.
2. What i take from the celebration is that you gather around a big bonfire, place a straw witch on the bonfire and watch her burn while singing songs. But whenever i think to myself "What an off tradition of celebrating the burning of women"....i think think of the funny North American Tradition of waiting on February 2 to see a groundhog emerge from its hole to determine if we will get 6 more weeks of winter. Both are quite kooky.
3. Yes, some Danes i have talked to do regard the witch burning as inappropriate. I was asking my co-workers how they wold all be celebrating the day to see what they would say....including my boss who i asked if they would be attending a witch burning or hosting their own burning at home. He told me they would be hosting their own burning at home because his son really wanted to make a witch to burn (not sure if either of us were serious in this conversation.....but great answer).
Last year on Sankt Hans day, we went to the Kongens Nytorv area to watch the burning. There with good friends, we drank many beers and watched the witch burn away into the night.
Witch - pre-burning (notice all the people watching)
In Denmark it is kinda the opposite - all the holidays of the year are officially over now until Christmas. The last one was at the start of June, so I guess you can say that the midsummer festival here (which is not a holiday) represents the end of the holiday season.
Side note - midsummer in Sweden is a holiday.
Back to Denmark for now and a short discussion on the midsummer holiday called SanktHans. Instead of me trying to explain what the holiday is, i will start with a short description from the ever trustworthy wikipedia -
In Denmark, the solstitial celebration is called Sankt Hans aften ("St. John's Eve"). It was an official holiday until 1770, and in accordance with the Danish tradition of celebrating a holiday on the evening before the actual day, it takes place on the evening of 23 June. It is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people.
It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional, although bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be close by (i.e. on the shores of lakes and other waterways, parks, etc.) In the 1920s a tradition of putting a witch made of straw and cloth (probably made by the elder women of the family[citation needed]) on the bonfire emerged as a remembrance of the church's witch burnings from 1540 to 1693[citation needed]. This burning sends the "witch" away to Bloksbjerg, the Brocken mountain in the Harz region of Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held on this day. Some Danes regard the relatively new symbolic witch burning as inappropriate.[7][8]
In 1885 Holger Drachmann wrote a midsommervise (Midsummer hymn) called "Vi elsker vort land..." ("We Love Our Country") that is sung with a melody composed by P.E. Lange-Müller at every bonfire on this evening.
The points I really like from this description are as follows:
1. It was an official holiday until 1770 (lol - Canada was not a country then....no even close!). I wonder what made them decide in 1770 to declare the day no longer a holiday.
2. What i take from the celebration is that you gather around a big bonfire, place a straw witch on the bonfire and watch her burn while singing songs. But whenever i think to myself "What an off tradition of celebrating the burning of women"....i think think of the funny North American Tradition of waiting on February 2 to see a groundhog emerge from its hole to determine if we will get 6 more weeks of winter. Both are quite kooky.
3. Yes, some Danes i have talked to do regard the witch burning as inappropriate. I was asking my co-workers how they wold all be celebrating the day to see what they would say....including my boss who i asked if they would be attending a witch burning or hosting their own burning at home. He told me they would be hosting their own burning at home because his son really wanted to make a witch to burn (not sure if either of us were serious in this conversation.....but great answer).
Last year on Sankt Hans day, we went to the Kongens Nytorv area to watch the burning. There with good friends, we drank many beers and watched the witch burn away into the night.
Witch - post burning (notice the young child taking photos)
This year we decided to attend a different location - the Frederiskberg Garden. We arrived very early (5pm) to get a good spot for the burning and were surprised to see that we were among the first to arrive (not so surprised 15 minutes later when the rain came). A short interlude at a friends house where we have our cheese and wine picnic inside and then back to garden. We tried out best to sing the official song (i personally think my danish is a little better when i am drunk) and then cheered with everyone as the witch went up in flames. It was really a nice time - great to see so many people get together and celebrate summer - even if the main thing I (as a Canadian) get out of it is that we are burning a witch.
Us with our Rose Port at the burning
A view of the witch on the bonfire from our amazing pre-rain
spot....the rain came soon after. The witch still burned quite well
at 10pm despite the rain....i wonder how much lighter fluid they used.
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