Holiday Traditions

Ok! So the dancing wedding you will be attending makes more sense now :) I'm not sure what you mean by downing people though... drunk, I guess?

I mean people drowning like dying, but yes, many of them are drunk when they drown or burn their cottages down. That's the #1 news item here in midsummer. How many people will drown, will they drown because they go swimming or while they're boating, is the number higher or lower than last year etc.

I checked the stats (yes, there's special stats for people who drowned on midsummer weekend). Last year only one person drowned, but like I said earlier, it was snowing so not much swimming and boating activities happening. In 1999, 20 people drowned, clearly a warm midsummer.
 
I mean people drowning like dying, but yes, many of them are drunk when they drown or burn their cottages down. That's the #1 news item here in midsummer. How many people will drown, will they drown because they go swimming or while they're boating, is the number higher or lower than last year etc.

I checked the stats (yes, there's special stats for people who drowned on midsummer weekend). Last year only one person drowned, but like I said earlier, it was snowing so not much swimming and boating activities happening. In 1999, 20 people drowned, clearly a warm midsummer.

:eek: :eek: :eek:
And yet people continue to do it... this drives me crazy here as well. We have a LOT of places where flood waters run over the road with hard rains, people drive through it anyway, their car gets swept away, and many of them drown. You would think that this happening once would be enough to keep others from doing it, but...No!

Barriers are put up. People drive around them. There is a litany/directive PSA posted everywhere - Turn Around, Don't Drown - but no. People still do it every year. It's hard to feel sorry for them, unless they aren't from around here ..
 
For us, fourth of July (independence day) is coming up. Most non service businesses will be closed, and people will ummm.. drown :p and BBQ and hang out with friends and family. Hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, apple pie, fireworks, beer, and maybe more sophisticated BBQ like pulled pork or brisket. I hesitate to say that it's patriotic. I mean, it is, but nobody actually discusses our founding fathers or has any traditions surrounding actual patriotism that I have ever encountered. It's just food and a day off work :eek:

I love the fireworks but hate the yahoos shooting guns into the air. :eek: My birthday is a few days after so I grew up believing some of those fireworks were for me. :D My favorite wild berry (black raspberries) also ripens around that same time, making me horribly conceited...and purple-fingered.

We are peculiarly patriotic here, mainly because my kids grew up in Philadelphia and my daughter is a theater geek, so we watch 1776 every year. (I have it on DVD, but TMC frequently airs it, as well.) I think growing up on the east cost, especially anywhere between DC and Boston, gives one a different perspective on the holiday. The Battle of Gettysburg (Civil War for the furriners ;) ) also took place just before July 4 (July 1-3). G-burg was just down the road for me, and I used to participate in some of the reenactments as a teenager. I recommend a visit to the town and the battle site for anyone interested in a little summer travel. It has been well-preserved and is incredibly moving.
 
:eek: :eek: :eek:
And yet people continue to do it... this drives me crazy here as well. We have a LOT of places where flood waters run over the road with hard rains, people drive through it anyway, their car gets swept away, and many of them drown. You would think that this happening once would be enough to keep others from doing it, but...No!

Barriers are put up. People drive around them. There is a litany/directive PSA posted everywhere - Turn Around, Don't Drown - but no. People still do it every year. It's hard to feel sorry for them, unless they aren't from around here ..

I guess people just don't think they're gonna die, it's always someone else. Besides you can only drown once, so there's no real learning curve there... Plus like I said, a lot, or most, of those who drown are drunk, so they really don't think. Maybe those close to someone who has drowned learn the lesson.
 
The Swedes are crazy about midsummer. I think it can be described as X-mas with warmer weather and more booze.


Among the Danes the celebration of midsummer is "sankthans" on the 24th of June.
Basically it is about burning a large bonfire adorned with a witch-figure and singing a traditional romantic song about nationality, the good old days and the importance of keeping witches and trolls at bay with fire.

There is nothing like the commemoration of religiously sanctioned grizzly murder of deviant members of society.


..... but I really like the part with a huge bonfire.
The further the spectators are driven away by thermal radiation, the better the bonfire!
 
The Swedes are crazy about midsummer. I think it can be described as X-mas with warmer weather and more booze.


Among the Danes the celebration of midsummer is "sankthans" on the 24th of June.
Basically it is about burning a large bonfire adorned with a witch-figure and singing a traditional romantic song about nationality, the good old days and the importance of keeping witches and trolls at bay with fire.

There is nothing like the commemoration of religiously sanctioned grizzly murder of deviant members of society.


..... but I really like the part with a huge bonfire.
The further the spectators are driven away by thermal radiation, the better the bonfire!

Too bad fire doesn't work on the trolls here :p

This sounds like fun! Let it be known, however, that I am a total fire bug. In that I will say, the bigger the better! :D
 
The Swedes are crazy about midsummer. I think it can be described as X-mas with warmer weather and more booze.


Among the Danes the celebration of midsummer is "sankthans" on the 24th of June.
Basically it is about burning a large bonfire adorned with a witch-figure and singing a traditional romantic song about nationality, the good old days and the importance of keeping witches and trolls at bay with fire.

There is nothing like the commemoration of religiously sanctioned grizzly murder of deviant members of society.


..... but I really like the part with a huge bonfire.
The further the spectators are driven away by thermal radiation, the better the bonfire!

Yes, Ansgar and the other missionaries made a better work with you guys, didn't they?:D

We have just had matjes, new potatoes, sourcream, chives and eggs with Bitburger and Aalborg Jubileum.

Soon there will be strawberries, cream and coffee.

No dancing around singing about little frogs though.
I have limits.

Happy Midsummer everyone!
 
Yes, Ansgar and the other missionaries made a better work with you guys, didn't they?:D

We have just had matjes, new potatoes, sourcream, chives and eggs with Bitburger and Aalborg Jubileum.

Soon there will be strawberries, cream and coffee.

No dancing around singing about little frogs though.
I have limits.

Happy Midsummer everyone!

We had matjes, senapsill, new potatoes with dill, sour cream, chives and beer.

Soon there'll be buttermilk "panna cotta" with basil and strawberries, then we'll go see the bonfire being lit.

And boo on no frogs hopping! I'm gonna have to rewatch the how to become a Swede video and imagine you there instead. :D

Nobody's drowned yet. ;)

Happy Midsummer!
 
We had matjes, senapsill, new potatoes with dill, sour cream, chives and beer.

Soon there'll be buttermilk "panna cotta" with basil and strawberries, then we'll go see the bonfire being lit.

And boo on no frogs hopping! I'm gonna have to rewatch the how to become a Swede video and imagine you there instead. :D

Nobody's drowned yet. ;)

Happy Midsummer!

I'm surprised you don't have floating food? :p
 
Independence Day

For Americans, it's 4th of July. This usually means firing up the BBQ pit, hanging out with friends and family, setting off fireworks in the evening, sparklers for the kids, and beer for the rest of us :D

If you have any traditions you want to share, or traditional menus, post them here! Mine is chicken on the grill (hot dogs and hamburgers are more traditional), potato salad, pinto beans, deviled eggs or a green salad and then some kind of apple pie for dessert. This year I am making a tarte tatin, but more traditional would be a deep dish apple pie.

Whatever your traditions, have fun, eat well, and watch out for bottle rockets :D
 
A little heads up, in case you want to participate.

The official cinnamon bun day is approaching, it's on October 4th. :)

It's originally a Swedish thing, so I guess Iris should be the one talking about it, but we do it here too, so why not me.

I'll be baking cinnamon buns then for sure, and probably failing miserably on the visual front again. Although my mom gave me a proper master class of making pretty cinnamon buns yesterday, so maybe I'll manage tad better now than I have in the past. :)

I have a recipe if somebody wants it (PM me and I'll send it), but I'm pretty sure you'll find plenty of them online as well.
 
A little heads up, in case you want to participate.

The official cinnamon bun day is approaching, it's on October 4th. :)

It's originally a Swedish thing, so I guess Iris should be the one talking about it, but we do it here too, so why not me.

I'll be baking cinnamon buns then for sure, and probably failing miserably on the visual front again. Although my mom gave me a proper master class of making pretty cinnamon buns yesterday, so maybe I'll manage tad better now than I have in the past. :)

I have a recipe if somebody wants it (PM me and I'll send it), but I'm pretty sure you'll find plenty of them online as well.

Want! Want want! PM ~> Seela.
Is that how you meant? :D
 
Speaking of Cinnamon Bun Day

From TheLocal.se:

Every year on October 4th, the Swedes celebrate Cinnamon Bun Day. Cafes, restaurants, and convenience stores across the country sell the spiced Swedish buns.

The holiday was invented in 1999 by the Home Baking Council (Hembakningsrådet), a club of baking ingredient producers now run by Danish sugar company Dansukker. The company wanted to create a baking tradition in honour of its 40th anniversary.

"We wanted to celebrate home-baking," Birgit Nilsson Bergström, project manager at the Home Baking Council, told The Local. "So we talked with various bakers, teachers, and just all sorts of ordinary people, and we asked what bread they thought of when they thought of home-baking. And that was it."

The cinnamon bun itself has been a beloved pastry in Sweden since the 1920s. Money was tight during World War I, and it wasn't until after the war that many Swedish households could afford to splurge on the ingredients.

The Swedish cinnamon bun is much less sticky and sweet than the typical American cinnamon roll. Another essential difference in Swedish cinnamon buns is the cardamom spice in the dough, which adds another dimension of flavour.

The buns are baked for just a few minutes in a very hot oven, making them light and fluffy with a golden brown surface. They are then topped with grains of "pearl sugar" as opposed to frosting or glaze.

Nowadays cinnamon rolls can be found around the world, but in Sweden they've got that extra something - a touch of Scandinavian simplicity.​
 
A little heads up, in case you want to participate.

The official cinnamon bun day is approaching, it's on October 4th. :)

It's originally a Swedish thing, so I guess Iris should be the one talking about it, but we do it here too, so why not me.

I'll be baking cinnamon buns then for sure, and probably failing miserably on the visual front again. Although my mom gave me a proper master class of making pretty cinnamon buns yesterday, so maybe I'll manage tad better now than I have in the past. :)

I have a recipe if somebody wants it (PM me and I'll send it), but I'm pretty sure you'll find plenty of them online as well.

*jumps up and down waving arms*

Me! Me! Me, me, me!

I'll take a PM. :)

Yes, I know it's gluten. But sometimes...well, I fall of the wagon. :rolleyes:
 
*jumps up and down waving arms*

Me! Me! Me, me, me!

I'll take a PM. :)

Yes, I know it's gluten. But sometimes...well, I fall of the wagon. :rolleyes:

Especially for light and fluffy and golden brown. There's no resisting that! :) We have actually already decided to make cinnamon rolls while I am here, so this is perfect!
 
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