Happy summer ( Archived) (12)

Today is officially the first day of summer.
This day is celebrated as the first day of summer in Iceland, a tradition dating back to the use of the Old Norse calendar, which had six months of winter and six months of summer. It occurs on the first Thursday after April 18th, and marks the start of the month of Harpa.

Icelandic folklore says that if winter and summer freeze together, there will be a good summer, i.e. if the temperature drops below freezing the night before.
A snowstorm right before summer is thought to bode well for a good summer according to old folktales. A folklorist says it is also an omen for a good harvest.
We had snowstorm yesterday but now all the snow is gone and its a beautiful day.
This is a national Holiday.

We are on spring season happy summer to ya

Spring has sprung the grass is ris

I wonder where the birdies is.

Send me money and your green card ill tell ya hahaha

Summer Solstice -- Midsummer Day

Finland is one of the most northerly countries in the world. The winters near the Arctic Circle are long and dark. Summer is long awaited. Summer in Finland is warm, bright and exhilarating. Above the seventy-degree latitude, the midnight sun is visible from mid-May to the end of July, with the summer solstice being the most pronounced in brightness. The average during that period of time is nineteen hours of sunshine per day.

The events surrounding the summer solstice were originally pagan celebrations in Finland. It was important for the Vikings because they believed the earth stood still due to the fact that the sun did not set that day. Early Christian missionaries capitalized on the event and converted it to the "Day of Saint John" in honor of John the Baptist. The shamanistic Finnish festival became the Christian celebration we call "Juhannus" celebrated with bonfires and community Christian singing and rejoicing.
Summer is a rare commodity in the North-European country of Finland where winter's reign lengthens its grip far into spring. When summer finally arrives with its solstice around June 25, the festivities take over with grand proportions.

Symbolic of the cold, dark climate, Finns are a sober, serious people who view the world with furrowed brows from underneath their fur hats all winter. However, as soon as the sun eclipses the equinoctial line, the hats are thrown off, brows smooth and the Finns™ alter-ego is set free.

Juhannus, as the summer solstice is called in Finnish, is the initiation of all Finnish summer ambitions. The holiday is a quasi holy day, kept apart for special occasions, such as family reunions, weddings and christenings. This is by far the best time to visit Finland, to appreciate her in verdant summer dress.

Days before the holiday, preparations begin. On the home front, it means cleaning the entire house inside and out. Tender, fragrant green-leafed birch branches, tied in bunches, adorn doorways and porches to bring the summer's glories even closer home. The Finnish flag is flown, gloriously bright against the azure skies all through the nightless night. National costumes are taken from the attic to air, and are readied for the year's most important national outing. In the towns and villages, the building of the kokko, a huge bonfire, commences.

Thanks Migsy, I sure your spring is far warmer then my summer hahaha

Say Tomcat, you dont celebrate first day of summer in Finland?

Yes June 25

Yes, I think we are a bit early. We are expecting northern blast next weekend

Our spring is cold i can say taiwan has the best weather country in the word,our summer isnt that hot and our winter isnt that cold either:-)