Celebrating the Polish Midsummer in Stockholm 2023!

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The Kupala Night, Polish Midsummer will take place on 17th June 2023, is a holiday originally celebrated by Slavs from various parts of Europe during the summer solstice, on the night of June 22 to 23, i.e. during the shortest night of the year. In the folk tradition, this holiday ended the whole cycle of rituals intended to ensure the return to earth of the “time of life”, i.e. the time of harvest, prosperity, and happiness. The Slavs, like all ancient societies, was strongly connected with nature, and most of the was with a ritual calendar determined by the rhythm of the seasons (today called the Slavic Circle of the Year).

Photos: Mieszko Tyszkiewicz

Last year, the winner of the competition for the most beautiful wreath was Beata Laszkowska .

Among the listed holidays, the most famous and popular today is undoubtedly Kupala Night, a set of rituals related to the beginning of summer. Thanks to the fact that the knowledge about the celebration of this extraordinary holiday was passed down from generation to generation, today we have the opportunity to participate in its celebration in the form in which it took place centuries ago, although, of course, we do not know the exact, magical meaning of each element of the ritual.

Midsummer celebrations are present in Anglo-Saxon countries, Mittsommerfest in Germanic countries, Midsummer in Sweden, and Kupala Night in Poland.

The customs and rituals of the old days were continued in the form of games. Some of them, such as the popular midsummer wreaths, took on a more innocent than original form. Each girl has a bouquet of flowers prepared earlier, which she had previously picked from the meadow or garden. There are peonies, fern leaves, chamomiles, gerberas, grasses, herbs, bush twigs, and others. Around 3 pm we seat in a circle and start making wreaths with soft singing, the atmosphere is wonderful. Each wreath is different and contained different flowers, each one is beautiful. We dance the special ceremonial dance. I think that the strength, power, and unity of Women in the Circle are enormous and stay with us for a long time. After dancing and singing, the girls in white dresses go to the lake to let their wreaths float on the water. Each of the girls has our intentions, our list of things they want to say goodbye to and hello to. The laying of wreaths is very popular and I think it is the main point of the program.

Feminine energy loves weaving, women are weavers of life. The movement of our hands is conducive to us, we get rid of tension and activate relaxing hormones. The founder of the idea of the Polish Midsummer in Stockholm event is Halina Bartoszek Rosa , an artist, painter, textile pattern designer, and promoter of Podhale, Polish regional culture. This year, Halina Bartoszek-Rosa will organize her event under various media partners and sponsors as well as her own foundation for Supporting Culture and International Cooperation. Halina Rosa, this allows the promotion of the event in the distant world, and at the same time the promotion of Polish culture and the Polish community in Sweden.

Special thanks to the wonderful photographer, Mieszek Tyszkiewicz , who took 1500 beautiful photos and several videos last year.

The event is organized every year, such meetings are aimed at integrating the Polish community in Sweden in Scandinavia and spreading Polish culture around the world. The event will be enriched every year with new activities. This year, a painting plein-air is planned, during which artists will paint wreaths, and a dance will be performed according to a choreography prepared by Janusz Sławomirski.