Before 1316, the summer solstice was called Ukon juhla, after an old Finnish god Ukko. In Karelia, people had many bonfires side by side, the biggest of which was called Ukko-kokko (the "bonfire of Ukko"). At present the midsummer holiday is known as Juhannus, or midsommar for the Swedish-speaking minority, and is the year's most notable occasion for drunkenness and revels.

Most of Finland burns bonfires (kokko) at lakesides and eats smoked fish from the same lakes. In the coastal areas that are the stronghold of the Finland-Swedish , these are supplanted by a maypole tradition transferred from Sweden and pickled herring.

When Finland was Christianized, the holiday was named after John the Baptist (Johannes) in order to give a Christian meaning for the pagan holiday. The traditions, however, remained quite unchanged and survive in modern-day Finland although they have lost their original purposes. In folk magic, still well known but no longer seriously practiced, midsummer was a very potent night and the time for many small rituals, mostly for young maidens seeking suitors.Will o wisps were believed to be seen at midsummer night, marking a treasure.

Midsummer in Finland is celebrated a lot more intensely as in Sweden. A great many people get indecently drunk and happy. It is also an occasion where many people are looking for a relationship (often rather short one). The statistics of the number of people drowned and killed in accidents are morbidly counted every year while the number of assaults also peaks. It's also common to start summer holidays from the Midsummer day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer#Finland

Midsummer

Written for Virtual Finland by Joe Brady

http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26052

Finnish Midsummer:

http://www.uta.fi/~th63387/juhannus.html

a view to the bridge and entry to this very beautiful island Seurasaari

saari - Insel - island

every year come a lot of people from the whole world to this nice event

they get good food :-)

a swanfamily

Juhannustanko

Als Mittsommerfest werden die Feierlichkeiten zur Sommersonnenwende am 20., 21. oder 22. Juni bezeichnet. In den nordischen Ländern, in denen die Nächte zu dieser Jahreszeit kaum dunkel werden ("Weisse Nächte"), sind diese Bräuche besonders lebendig. Neben den skandinavischen und baltischen Ländern zählt dazu auch England , Schottland und Irland. Aber auch in Norddeutschland sind diese Traditionen gut bekannt.

Wie bei anderen Festen, etwa Weihnachten, dessen Traditionen teilweise auf das römische Fest des Sonnengotts und die Geburt des durch den Vater ausgesendeten Mithra zurückgehen, gelang es den Christen traditionelle Mittsommerfeste formal durch Feste zu Ehren des populären Heiligen Johannes der Täufer zu vereinnahmen, dessen Namenstag am 24. Juni liegt. Auf diese Weise sollten die aus ihrer Sicht heidnischen Gebräuche umgedeutet werden. Daher stammen auch viele Namen des Mittsommerfestes in den verschiedenen Sprachen - die Bräuche sind jedoch alt überliefert.

Mehr darueber lesen unter: Midsummer 2006