Though Sweden’s major midsummer events are off the cards this year, a roster of virtual festivities are planned instead. People across the globe are being encouraged to cook up a Swedish storm in their own kitchens (traditional recipes range from strawberry cake to cured salmon) before tuning in to a live stream on Visit Sweden’s Facebook page on Friday 19 June. On the stream, Swedish hosts from across the country will guide guests through traditional activities from wreath-making and snaps flavouring to midsummer dancing.
The Californian city of Santa Barbara hosts a Summer Solstice Celebration in late June. Festivities first started in 1974 and the three-day festival usually attracts around 100,000 visitors, who gather in Alameda Park to experience drumming, dancing and street food. The annual highlight is the main parade which is jam-packed with colourful costumes, puppets and masks. While the festivities can't go ahead as planned this year, the team is putting together a virtual jamboree complete with concerts and creative workshops led by storytellers and artists.
The town of Lindsborg in Kansas celebrates its Swedish heritage every year by throwing a Midsummer's Festival for the Summer Solstice on the third Saturday in June. Usual festivities include the ancient lawn game Kubb (pronounced koob), as well as maypole dancing and traditional music. While the 2020 event will look a little different, the festival committee plans to mark the date with activities including a bake sale, flower crown crafts and a scavenger hunt. Details are still being ironed out and the Facebook page is the best place for updates.
Every year hundreds of yogis descend on Times Square in Manhattan to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Normally one of the most frantic places in America, the square becomes a place of calm once the 'Mind Over Madness Yoga' day takes over. This year organisers are planning "a virtual solstice experience" for New York's yogis – details will be announced on the website soon, and you can add yourself to the mailing list for updates. Now discover the museums and galleries you can visit from home too.
The Summer Solstice has long been a celebration of the culture and achievements of Canada's indigenous peoples. That's why it was selected as the country's National Indigenous Peoples Day, a date to honour the heritage of Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Métis citizens. Events usually take place across the country with traditional dances, games, storytelling and a ceremony of remembrance for veterans too. This year some virtual festivities are taking place instead, including an art-packed programme in Ottawa.
The midsummer's day tradition known as Wianki is one of the longest surviving festivals in Poland: predating Christianity, it honours an ancient Slavic goddess. Kraków is at the centre of the festivities, where women wear flowered wreaths and then throw them into the river. Legend has it that if the wreath stays by the bank the girl will remain single, but if it reaches a man waiting on the other side she will marry. Wianki is also marked with a large music festival of the same name – this year live concerts are being substituted with online events.
As part of a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, bonfires are generally lit all over the mountain tops in Austria's Tyrol region to celebrate the longest day of the year. Dozens of local clubs and groups typically ascend the mountains to build bonfires, often in the shape of religious symbols or birds, and these are lit at dusk. Check tyrol.com for updates this year.
The Fiesta de San Juan is one of Spain's most popular festivals, generally beginning with a feast of local delicacies on the evening of 23 June. The festivities then typically continue the next day on beaches across the country, where people light fires, set off fireworks, dance and swim in the sea. In Alicante there is also usually a folklore parade featuring dance troops from across the world, though this has been postponed to September this year. Celebrations are set to vary across the country in June.
The neighbourhood of Fremont in Seattle generally marks the Summer Solstice with a colourful parade. Brought together by the Fremont Arts Council, more than 60 community groups brighten the city streets with giant puppets, costumed stilt walkers and glittering floats in June. Though the parade can't go ahead as usual this year, the arts organisation has decided to go virtual: tune in on 20 June on Facebook or YouTube to see streams of archive footage and local art displays.
Sankt Hans Aften, or St John's Eve, is generally celebrated on 23 June. It's the evening before the Danish Midsummer's Day and the birthday of John the Baptist. After a traditional dinner with family and friends, Danes usually go to a bonfire party where an effigy of a witch is lit around 10pm. Traditional folk songs are sung and the partying continues into the next day. Denmark's borders are closed to international tourists at the time of writing and celebrations will vary across the country this year – check visitdenmark.com for the status of events, such as riverside bonfires in Ribe and festivities at Holbæk Beach Park.
In Lithuania, the Rasos (Midsummer) Festival is typically held at the Kernavė Archaeological site, the country's ancient capital. The tradition sees locals gathering in national dress to burn herbs, drink tea and dance. The modern capital of Vilnius, less than an hour south-east, cancelled all events from 16 March to 31 May, but midsummer night celebrations at the end of June look likely to go ahead. They'll involve wreath-weaving and plenty of traditional music.
Around midday on the Summer Solstice, an astronomical phenomenon occurs at the Duomo di Firenze, Florence's 15th-century cathedral. At this time, the sun’s rays come through the mammoth dome and project the image of a solar disk so that it perfectly overlaps a circle on the marble floor below. This annual spectacle typically attracts visitors from around the world. The cathedral is opening to visitors in June, though events are on pause for now – keep an eye on the website for any updates.
One for music lovers, Reykjavík's Secret Solstice Festival attracts a great international line-up of artists, and runs in late June in the Icelandic capital. Some festival-goers even continue the party in the countryside at a geothermal pool and explore Raufarholshellir lava cave, a network of 5,000 year-old tunnels (pictured here). Unfortunately, organisers cancelled the event this year due to COVID-19, though they promise to "be back next summer with more energy than ever".
Eddie Stroecker arrived in Alaska in the early 20th century and bought with him a love of baseball. He is credited with being the father of the Midnight Sun Baseball game which was first played on the evening of 21 June 1906 in Fairbanks, Alaska. The first pitch is usually played at 10.30pm, just as the sun is beginning to set, and the game finishes around three hours later as the sun rises again. Due to COVID-19, this year's game is sadly cancelled – but they'll no doubt be ready to pitch again in 2021.
For thousands of years people who follow pagan and druid belief systems have been gathering at the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, to mark the Summer Solstice. Up to 20,000 people, many of them dressed in ancient robes and playing ancient instruments, usually gather here at dawn each year to watch the sunrise over the stones. This year, however, Stonehenge plans to live stream the sunrise and sunset so you can still appreciate Mother Nature at her best – you can find all the details on the official Facebook event. Now check out the destinations offering big incentives for visitors after lockdown.