Today we celebrate midsummer eve (Juhannusaatto) in quite quiet Capital district. Yesterday there were lots queues on the roads leaving from Helsinki and the Capital district. People head to their cottages or to the cottages of their friends or relatives. To tourist Helsinki seems to be very quiet city tonight and strange because it is going to be bright the whole night. The sun is setting tonight at just before 11 pm and it is rising again at bit before 4 am. So there is not going to be dark at all and additionally they are promising clear or just a bit cloudy sky. The temperature is now almost 22 C and in the night it is going to be around 15 C. During midsummer’s nights we may even get to see the super moon in Finland. If the sky really stays clear like it is now, the full moon is going to look bigger than normally during the night. This due to the fact that the moon is now closest to earth in its orbit.
The finnish midsummer is full of old traditions, but this time I decided not to write about them. Maybe next time. Just few words about midsummer nowadays in Finland.
Very many Finns spend their midsummer with friends, family or relatives at a cottage. They barbecue food, drink alcohol and go to sauna. Some people go to the music festivals arranged throughout Finland. And very few of us stay home, if living in a city.
The midsummer weekend is often considered to be the “darkest” weekend during the summer, especially if the weather is good like it is this year. Last year 10 people lost their lives by drowning during midsummer. In year 2012 altogether 104 people drowned in Finland and 23 of them in June. So every 3,5 days a person dies by drowning. During midsummer 10 people in 3 days. If we compare it to the lives lost in the traffic, it is a lot, although we live in a land of thousands of lakes. During 2012 255 people lost their lives in Finland in traffic.
But if we stay in Helsinki, what can we do here. The shops close by midday. And most of them open the next time on Monday. The restaurants are open, at least many of them. Then we have the amusement park Linnanmäki and of course our zoo Korkeasaari. To see a bonfire (kokko), which is very Finnish, we can go to Seurasaari. It is an island very near Helsinki and they have a midsummer celebration there every year. The main bonfire is litten at 10 pm from a church boat (kirkkovene). The bonfire is built on a raft on the sea. Every year a couple is wed during midsummer celebration at Seurasaari and they get to light the bonfire.
It used to be very popular to get married on midsummer and even today it one of the most popular times among the couples.
The following picture have been taken about an hour ago on one of the main roads leading out of Helsinki. Usually there is at least few cars any time of the day or night.
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