Midsummer Day

Although midsummer is for many people reminiscent of a specific Swedish celebration, Midsummer Day is a unique holiday that takes place in a large number of different places in the world. This is because its history is twofold linked to both pre-Christian times and the spread of Christianity across Europe.

Here we take a closer look at Midsummer Day.

Folk and church holiday

In a Swedish respect for Midsummer Day, definitely the thoughts of the Midsummer celebration. This very typical celebration that takes place between 20 and 26 June has a long and unclear history. While some believe that it is a pre-Christian phenomenon that is linked to the celebration of the summer solstice, some believe that its spread is closely linked to Christianity and St. John the Baptist's Day.

Regardless of where you place the day in a historical stage, it is a given that it is a common holiday that is celebrated in many different places in the world. In Sweden, it has traditionally been celebrated with midsummer dance and classic midsummer food.

Elsewhere in the world, where the position of the church is more widespread even in modern times, the celebration has a considerably much more ecclesiastical appearance. This has led many to see Midsummer Day as a kind of rock between pre-Christian traditions and Christian customs. But as it is unclear how obvious the historical anchoring really is, no one has come to draw any definite conclusions.

What is clear, however, is that the day continues to be celebrated in many places around the world and that it remains extremely popular. Something that is particularly interesting is that all countries seem to have a tendency to associate Midsummer Day with their own celebration, even though it is in fact an international holiday. On the whole, probably one of the most common festivals around the world, which interestingly lacks common elements.

All Saints Day

All Saints' Day is a very multifaceted holiday whose history is in a way hidden in obscurity. But as a Christian tradition, it has proven to be unusually multifaceted and vibrant. This has made it celebrated in many different ways depending on where you are in the world.

We have looked at All Saints' Day and seen what sets it apart.

A common but misunderstood day

The origin of All Saints' Day is typically considered to be the ecclesiastical ambition to draw the attention of saints and martyrs to their sacrifices. All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday that celebrates the lives of all saints. Exactly when it is celebrated varies between different places in the world, but it typically takes place on November 1 or sometime between October 31 and November 6.

But what exactly is a saint? A saint is a person who has been recognized by the Church as having attained a very high level of holiness and virtue.

Over time, however, All Saints' Day has become more of a general attention of the people who have left earthly life. Whether it's about saints or our own loved ones. Therefore, the contemporary celebration of All Saints' Day is very closely linked to cemetery visits. Lighting candles and visiting graves is considerably more common than actually spending time in church.

In many places, the day is probably more associated with Halloween, even though they are not really connected other than that they occur one after the other. This is typically considered to be the result of a linguistic interconnection.

All Saints' Day continues to be a popular holiday, but is celebrated in many different ways. In our own time, it has probably in many ways faced great competition from Halloween, even though these two phenomena have completely different origins.