Cheers

from the Swedish official Midsummers-eve, celebrated on the Friday of the weekend 20-25th of June. The actual solstice was yesterday but during Friday afternoon onwards, the actual celebrations, actually a fertility rite, takes place. 

In the early afternoon, families gather for a collective celebration, often in open spaces like a meadow or a big garden, dancing (for the children's sake)  around the pagan symbol: "the Midsummers pole" and maybe do some simple games. Usually the children and  grown-ups help to decorate the pole with leaves and flowers, whereafter the dancing begins, at best with live music, accordeon, guitar, fiddle, maybe a base-guitar but most often, with only spontaneous singing and ring-dancing. After the dancing the families gather in their own gardens or homes to  eat together, usually a rather simple meal of potatoes, pickled herring, dressings, sallads and bread, beer and a "nubbe", a small glass of flavoured strong spirits of some kind, the glass being so small, gives reason to fill it to the brim many times, saying cheers, often accompanied with a silly short song to celebrate the drink.

The gathering goes on long into the night and traditionally you stay outdoor as long as ever possible, just putting on more clothes. We broke up from our party to drive home (I volunteered to stay sober) around half past eleven.