No. 206 - Midsummer

I'm still reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It's been three weeks since I started it but it feels like three months. It rarely takes me this long to read a book. I just can't get into it. It came highly recommended by two different people. I think it stinks. Not terribly rotten and decaying, but it has a mild odor to it.

I'm beginning to think that some juggernaut advertising campaign was behind this overly-hyped book that convinced people to read it and then tell others that it's great. And how convenient was it that the author delivered all three completed novels to his publisher just before he died? That makes for a good story too. I wouldn't be surprised if Stieg Larsson shows up alive in a few years. All part of an elaborate PR stunt.

I have more than a hundred pages to go, so who knows? Maybe it has a fantastic surprise ending, like the Statue of Liberty toppled and buried in the sand. That would REALLY be a surprise ending since the story takes place in Sweden.

On the positive side, the book taught me several things. First, I learned about the tea tree in Post No. 185. Then I learned about kitsch in Post No. 194. Then today I read a word that has showed up at least a dozen times -- Midsummer -- mentioned in the context of some form of holiday. I figured it was time to learn more about it.

I learned that Midsummer is a holiday mainly celebrated in Europe to recognize the summer solstice -- the day of the year with the longest period of daylight. In Sweden it is celebrated on the Friday and Saturday that fall between June 19 and June 26. It is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden. The main celebrations take place on Friday and the traditional events include raising and dancing around a huge maypole.

There's that maypole again. It was mentioned back in Post No. 119 as being used in Beltane, or May Day, celebrations. Most other countries raise their maypoles in May, but Swedes wait until Midsummer. One explanation for this is that the leaves and flowers needed to decorate the poles aren't made available until June by Sweden's late-arriving summer.

There are strong pagan elements to the Midsummer festival, also similar to Beltane. Connections to fertility and fire are part of Midsummer, again similar to Beltane. And of course, alcoholic beverages are consumed during both as well.