Virtuoso Insights - October/November 2008 - (Page 72) the Perfect ending MidsuMMer eve’s Dream l 72 ike the characters in Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scandinavians turn their sights to merrymaking on Midsummer’s Eve, the night before the summer solstice, or longest day of the year. Midsummer — the roots of which are found in pagan rituals — is celebrated across the region, although nowhere so much as in Sweden, where it is a national holiday and rivals Christmas as the most important day of the year. During the festival (called “Midsommar”), Swedes decorate and dance around a large maypole, play folk songs, light bonfires, eat traditional delicacies, and, of course, drink plenty of beer and aquavit. The region certainly has reason to celebrate, given that it enjoys extended daylight throughout the summer season — between mid-June and July, the sun doesn’t even bother to set. Locals and visitors alike take advantage of these seemingly endless days to revel in Scandinavia’s many delights: meandering through vibrant Helsinki markets, sailing across Stockholm’s stunning harbor, gazing at Norway’s glorious Geirangerfjord, and cavorting in Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens. All of which means a summer visit to the “Land of the Midnight Sun” will leave you with the sunniest of dispositions. Virtuoso insights
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