However, being much farther north, the winter days are dark most hours, followed by summers that by mid June the days last from 3 am to 11 pm and barely dark in the 11-3 night. The long days are cumulate in the Midsommar celebration.
Cousin Arne believed that he had to have new potatoes from the garden and fresh strawberries for the celebration. He cheated a little by raising a hill of potatoes in a 5 gallon plastic pail, kept in the barn overnight, and let out during the day at first. The new potatoes might be small, but were part of the old life when the long winter food supply was, too often, gone by the time the garden began producing, so new potatoes were counted on by mid June.
Another tradition was fresh strawberries on Midsummer, festooned on a white layer cake.
When we visited over Midsummer, Arne and Lillian had both. The garden strawberries were still only pink, but southern Sweden had ripe ones and whatever the price, one bought some for the cake.
So this year, with the strawberry picking beginning this morning (2 quarts), and the potatoes thriving in the garden, we may have the Swedish dinner too.
My Swedish cousins will get together for their family reunion on midsummer day again this year, as they always do, and celebrate. We are invited, but it seems as if our world traveling days are over now. However, we will remember them with a glass of aquavit this Thursday at 5-7 pm at the Luck Museum where Scandinavian beverages are featured as the new "Skal" exhibit goes up the following week.
Some photos from the Farm
