Midsummer Celebrations in Denmark

I’m back home trying to cope with the change from scorching Danish summer to depressing English deluge. We enjoyed fantastic weather during our stay in Denmark apart from the one day we had planned to spent on Fanø, when heavy rain made us cancel our daytrip. Expect articles about Copenhagen and Bork Havn over the next couple of days, once I’ve sorted through the hundreds of photos we took.

In the meantime if you are visiting Denmark right now, make sure you don’t miss out on the Midsummer celebrations on Saturday, 23 June. “Sankt Hans Aften” is celebrated on the eve of St. John’s Day (”Johannes Døberen” or “Sankt Johannes” in Danish, which has been shortened to “Sankt Hans”), 23 June, every year with bonfires all over Denmark.

Celebrations vary from place to place, but many include a bonfire, music and “snobrød” (a sausage secured on a wooden stick with dough and cooked over the bonfire) washed down with a beer or soft drink. Some celebrations also include the burning of a witch made of cloth and straw and placed on a stick (her broom) on top of the bonfire. Legend has it that by burning the witch, you send her to “Bloksbjerg”, a mountain in Northern Germany, where witches were believed to gather on Midsummer Eve. “Midsommervisen”, a hymn about Midsummer and Denmark, is sung around most bonfires on 23 June.

Wherever you may be in Denmark on 23 June, you’re bound to be close to some sort of public celebration of “Sankt Hans Aften”. Look out for “Sankt Hans Aften” signs or ask someone at your hotel, the nearest tourist office, in a shop, stop someone on the street if you have to, just don’t miss out on this little slice of old Danish tradition.

Technorati Tags: travel, Denmark, Midsummer celebrations, Sankt Hans Aften

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