How to Throw a Nordic Midsummer Party

Midsummer in the Nordics is a big event. It's the heart of the summer months when the days are at their longest and the nights are short. We revel in the warm days with plenty of sunshine, surrounded by flowers with the forests bursting with greenery. It feels magical.

But it also has ancient and pagan links that take us back thousands of years to the times of our ancestors, when the seasons and especially the high season of summer was so important and so special.

Midsummer is a celebration that takes place not only in the Nordic countries but also in the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It centres around the harvest and fertility. It's a time of year when the vikings would have prayed for fertile lands and a good harvest to come, plants gained healing powers and the evil spirits would gather on the longest day.

Nowadays it's a time of happy and carefree celebration that includes everyone from the youngest to the oldest.

Everyone in the Nordics has a personal tradition to midsummer, but they all centre around an evening celebration or party and a fire of some sort. For many of us this means a fire on the beach, or if we are at home a BBQ or grill. It's still a fire. But the most important part of it is celebrating with family and friends.

In my family, the Midsummer party is always hosted by my sister-in-law Lise. She and her husband put on a wonderful informal family party for upwards of 25of us. We pile into her beautiful garden (she and I share a love of gardening) and share wonderful summer food, grill a few pølse and some other treats and enjoy the longest day of the year.

It's really special and made all the more by it only happening once a year. Of course we could have a party like this at any time, but there's something very significant about it having to be a particular day and knowing that the whole of Scandinavian and beyond is celebrating as well. It holds power in a strange way.

You don't have to live in the Nordics to host your own midsummer party. Let me share a few ideas with you to get you started (by all means make it your own because there are no hard and fast rules to this)

You don't have to have the celebration on Midsummer itself

In Norway midsummer and the festival of St John (Sankthans) are combined on 23 June. We simply call it Sankthansaften (the evening before St Hans) but the two festivals, one pagan, one Christian have become one and the same. In Sweden the celebration takes place on the weekend closest to midsummer, so it's rarely on 21 June itself. It's all about making the celebration your own and having it on a day that suits you and that you can relax and enjoy it on. Be flexible!

Take it outside

Midsummer parties in the Nordics are always held outside. It's a time to enjoy the summer weather, make the most of nature and relax in the fresh air. But like so many things in Scandinavia, the weather is no barrier to enjoying yourself. A little bit of rain puts no-one off

Be informal

The Nordic countries are not ones for formality of any kind and especially when celebrating. Don't stand on ceremony, let everyone be relaxed and chilled, put on some shorts, serve food on paper plates and generally put the formality away for another day.

Bonfires are a key part of Nordic midsummer celebrations. Your's doesn't need to be quite this big!

Light a fire

No Midsummer party is complete without a fire of some sort. We need to keep those evil spirits away. If you can light a bonfire (safely!), then great, but if not, light the BBQ or grill and cook some food on it. It's still a fire.

Make it a Scandi buffet

Think salads and fresh food. We love to have lots of cured meats, stirred egg (rather like cold scrambled eggs), fresh salads and an abundance of anything that is in season. Strawberries are a must. And you can't celebrate without the infamous Norwegian kakebord (cake buffet).

Include plenty of cakes

Talking of cakes! If you think you have enough cakes, add another one for good measure! Forget about those calories and allow yourself to indulge a little. If you find you have cakes left over at the end of the parry, let your guests each take some home for the day after.

Make a flower crown

This is such a Nordic thing to do. Even kids at school and kindergarten make crowns from birch twigs and flowers. It can look beautiful in a very simple way. Birch twigs (complete with leaves) are wrapped around into a circle and flowers pushed in. In Norway these are flowers in blues, whites and yellows at this time of year and perhaps the occasion Jonsokblom (St Hans flower), the flower that is most often associated with Midsummer and St Hans.

Now you are ready to celebrate like you're Nordic! Get outside, light that grill and celebrate the longest and most beautiful day of the year.