Midsommarsafton - Midsummer's Eve. Swedes celebrate midsummer's eve by raising the maypole and the kids sing and dance around it.
Today, we are in Laxön, where we slept last night. We woke up by 10am and explored the area. Laxön is an islet where one can fish for salmon. Lax means salmon. There is a hostel in the vicinity where one can stay the night too. A brief history of this place - At the end of the 1880s, the island was discovered by the Svea Engineer Regiment, which made it its summer camp. For 100 years after that, the military returned to Laxön and Älvkarleby to train in bridging the river. The regiment also erected the buildings that still contribute to the island's unique character. In the early 1900s, the area was also known through the construction of one of Sweden's first large hydroelectric power plants.
From Laxön, the drive continues to Gävle where we arrived just in time to see the erection of the maypole to celebrate Midsummer's Eve. The maypole is decorated with leaves and flowers. This was my first time seeing this although I have been since June 2017. I did not see this celebration in 2017 as I flew home. In 2018, we were on our way to the north and it was raining on that day and we doubted there were any celebrations on a rainy day. I am happy I get to see it this year! There was a live band that performed the songs. Kids danced and sang around the pole.
The drives continues to Armarbruk - a factory that made canons which were closed. We walked to the jetty and enjoyed the view of the waters before we continued our drive to Hudiksvall.
No comments:
Post a Comment