Vitabergsparken To experience Midsummer on a smaller scale in Stockholm, head to Vitabergsparken, a small park on the eastern side of Södermalm, for the usual dancing, singing and snacks.
It’s free to get in, with the celebrations running until around 4pm.
Swedish Midsummer traditions are thought to have their roots in pre-Christian, sun-worshipping cultures.
Despite later attempts by the church to transform Midsummer into an entirely Christian festival, it’s the pagan symbols that have stood the test of time.
Women and young children still put wild flowers in their hair, and communities across the country still decorate phallic have very little to do with Midsummer, but nobody seems too worried.
Unless you’re lucky enough to have been invited to dinner with some Swedish friends, your best bet is to head to one of the public gatherings which are held in parks and town squares around the country.
These tend to kick off fairly early on Midsummer’s Eve – aim to get there for around midday.
So if you want to party like a Swede, then head west.
The best place to join the midsummer festivities is around Gothenburg and the Bohuslan coast, the archipelago of some 8000 midnight-sun islands.
Dancing, feasting, drinking and a seemingly endless supply of sunlight: there’s a lot to like about Midsummer in Sweden.
With the possible exception of the weeks leading up to Christmas, the other big festival on the Swedish calendar, it’s the best time of year to be a foreign visitor in the country.
The same applies on the Saturday (Midsummer’s Day).
It could be gloriously sunny, but there’s a running joke in Sweden that the weather on Midsummer’s Eve is often the same as at Christmas.
Midsummer 2017: Friday 23rd June Midsummer 2018: Friday 22nd June Midsummer 2019: Friday 21st June The Friday (Midsummer’s Eve) is the main event, so many shops are closed altogether, or only open for short periods.