Midsummer, Invisibility and Freja

Posted on by Hanna

The Nordic Countries celebrates Midsummer tonight. We gather magic herbs and beautiful flowers, eat a lot of good food and drink a lot of mead.
If you can get hold of a Chicory, wear the root in your right pocket, then you are invisible and can open locked doors and treasure chests.
PS Freja lives in the Elder Tree

Happy Midsummer Everyone

25 thoughts on “Midsummer, Invisibility and Freja”

  1. Nice pictures, Hanna. I tried to grow chicory but it is too hot here and it went to seed as soon as it matured. Might try again in the autumn.
    Alen

    • Hi Alen. You better be ready on the 23 June 2018 with your chicory. There are a few doors I would like to open, and a treasure is always exiting to find 🙂

    • Thank you very much, Jo.
      It’s the Swedes’ greatest feast. In a sense, it is a celebration of culture, religion and nature at the same time. Celebration of joy. I like to mix it up with the Danish traditions 🙂 Nothing wrong with an occasion for celebration ❤
      …and you are wright about the evenings. They are lovely!!!

  4. Wonderful pictures and an interesting story. We in Holland don’t celebrate midsummer, the elderly, of wich I am one 🙂 do know the name Freja though, or Freya as we call her here, be it alone because of her giving the name to the day Vrijdag (friday).

    • Thanks a lot, Peter. Midsummer is celebrated in many northern European countries, including England, Ireland, Russia and France, but it is in the Nordic countries that the tradition is strongest.
      Freja (Norrønt: Freyja) is an important goddess in Nordic mythology. She was the most important female goddess of the Viking Age according to Wikipedia.
      I can recommend the celebration 🙂
      Hanna

  5. It seems the time for dreams and fantasies has arrived! I think I may discover some tonight! Thanks for the beautiful pics, and excitement to dream! 😀 xoxo

  7. Kom storsmilende til at tænke over om de fem starutter ved det hedder ‘gåsegang’ og ikke måsegang. 😀

    Afsindig flotte stemningsbilleder. 🙂

    • Haha!!! Tak for det, Drake.
      De fem starutter er led i et naturplejeprojekt.
      Dejligt kommunerne er begyndt at tænke i kreative baner ⭐
      Jeg kan lide dit bogstav rim 🙂 🙂

      • Odder kommune havde “ansat” nogle moskusænder til at holde grønne anlæg fri for dræbersnegle, men byens hundeejere havde ikke styr på deres hunde så det kiksede vist – men disse grønne naturplejetiltag er hellers glimrende.

  8. Lovely summer pictures, Hanna. 🙂 I see that you light fire in Midsummer, we do not do that in Sweden.

    • Hi John. Thanks a lot. I know about the bonfire and midsummer pole. But I love both traditions very much 🙂 🙂

  9. I absolutely agree that the way we celebrate Midsummer has heathen roots. I also think those roots are deeply saturated with the cults of fertility of which the Freja cult is a part. At least in Sweden, where I live, most of our Christian holidays have similar heathen roots. And so many heathen reminiscences remain. Even the pentecost seems to have had some heathen beginnings in the German custom of the Whitsuntide bride who went to the farmers asking for eggs. It would be interesting to read about whatever heathen remains there are to this day.
    Ellington

    • Hi Ellington. It is very interesting with the heathen traditions. I believe our culture holds a huge wealth of religions and mythology. Faith and mysticism are rich subjects which we hopefully never get done with 🙂

    • Thank you, Montucky. Sankt Hans is a celebration and tradition where we unite the pagan customs and the celebration of John the Baptist. Right now the nights are bright. The sun goes down at 10pm, where I live.
      Now rests a poetic atmosphere across the Nordic countries due to the bright nights, meadows and flowers, lakes and fields of grain.

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