When I traveled to Helsinki to see my friend, Petteri, during the last weekend of June, I knew that my trip would not be defined by staying only in Finland’s capital. To an outsider, it might seem that Helsinki would be busy and exciting in late June. This is definitely not the case. The city is a ghost town because it is the Finnish Mid-Summer holiday. This is when residents of urban places leave to spend their free time at summer cottages away from home. After I landed, my friend’s wife, Hanna, and another couple picked me up for a long drive north to a small town called Mikkeli (Google maps). It is in a part of Finland where countless lakes and forests dominate the landscape. The lakes are a major part of Finland’s natural beauty and the country contains thousands of them, carved out by glaciers that covered Northern Europe during the Ice Age (Finland’s lakes).
Following a four and a half hour drive, we met Petteri at the local shopping center, and after stocking up on four carts full of food and drinks, we drove 15 kilometers outside of town till we arrived at the summer cottage. The plot was situated among white birches and pine trees next to a beautiful lake, complete with a wood-burning Finnish sauna, an outdoor toilet, two guest cottages, and a dock reaching into the lake. To complete the summer cottage was a brick oven, well-manicured landscape, and just enough modernity to not sacrifice the rustic atmosphere. After two more couples joined us, we unpacked everything and soon brought out the champagne to toast the beginning of the Mid-Summer (Midsummer Festival). And what a great Mid-Summer it would be! The weather was almost perfect and promised to give us an unusually warm holiday weekend!
Our weekend was full of feasting, drinking, and taking saunas (Finnish sauna); where after going to the sauna and getting very hot, the best way to cool off was to rush down to the dock and jump into the cold water in the lake. This ritual was repeated multiple times each day. And, of course, there was the food! The men would stay busy keeping the fires lit at the brick oven and sauna, all the while grilling meat over the flames; everything from chicken and pork to delicious salmon. Meanwhile, the women in the group would provide eating utensils, make salads, side dishes, and desserts. All nine of us would have three big meals each day with beers and long drinks (drinks with gin and grapefruit soda) in between (Long Drinks).
All of the celebrating at this time of year in Finland is not without a purpose. It represents the traditions of welcoming the Summer Solstice in Finnish pagan culture and is also the beginning of the longest day of the year (About Summer Solstice). The sun sets late and rises early during this part of the season, with the sky only becoming partially dark after midnight for a few hours before the sunlight returns to brighten everything again. Additionally, the practice of Finnish people spending this holiday at summer cottages is symbolic of a return to nature, tranquility, and a slower pace of living. This is a sharp contrast to life lived in Helsinki or other cities where days are more fast paced and stressful.
A major event of the Mid-summer weekend was the lighting of the bonfire at midnight, traditionally meant to scare off evil spirits, but now more for the purpose of enjoyment. Petteri and his friend, Jukka (pronounced “You-ka”), built a raft out of available timber and then assembled a large stack of wood on the raft’s platform. When it became a little darker, both men took a row boat with the raft in tow into the lake and anchored it. They then used a torch to set the raft aflame and rowed back to be with the group and watch it burn. It was a beautiful sight that I’ve never before seen and really gave me a rare glimpse into this long celebrated holiday in Finland that is such a happy time of year for Finnish people.
After the weekend, I reflected on all the fun I had with Petteri, his wife, and friends; plus, how lucky I was to take part. This is a tradition in Finland that few outsiders would ever experience or know. At the same time, I also came closer to understanding how a country like Finland maintains its culture and heritage, one that pre-dates Christianity and the EU, by passing down summer cottages through the generations in Finnish families. The Mid-Summer holiday is a unique aspect of this country that allows its people to return to their cultural roots and take a well deserved break from modern society that exists in Finland today.
References
1.) Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&q=Mikkeli+map&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Mikkeli,+Finland&ei=hbgoTLOMIIuMOKPGqPwC&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA&z=8
2.) Finland’s lakes: http://www.ymparisto.fi/default.asp?node=12335&lan=en
3.) Midsummer Festival: http://www.squidoo.com/midsummer_festival
4.) Finnish sauna: http://www.cankar.org/sauna/index.html
5.) Long Drinks: http://www.hartwall.fi/en/Products/Drinks/Long-drinks/
6.) About Summer Solstice: http://www.saima-park.org/activities/cultural/about_summer_solstice.htm
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