The Mid-summer Day, a hundred-year-old tradition in Scandinavia, falls on June 22nd or 23rd, when the sun will reach its highest point in the sky, to create the longest day of the year. In (36) part of Scandinavia, one can see the (37) sun and the night never reaches complete darkness.
Many places celebrate Mid-summer on St. John’s day, June 24th, while in Sweden it is honored on the Friday (38) to June 20. Many centuries ago this day was to pay (39) to water, fire and plants. It was also a time to cleanse one’s soul. However, over time, this holiday lost much of its (40) meaning. Actually, Mid-summer marks a change in the farming year, specially the break between the completion of spring (41) and the hard work of summer hay- in Scandinavia, and in such Eastern European countries as Estonia and Lithuania.
How did and do people celebrate the festival
Family and friends get together to (42) themselves with such wonderful food as herring(鲱鱼), (43) potatoes, sour cream, bread, and beer, followed by strawberries or fresh fruit. After the meal, people would dance. (44) . Now it is just for fun. (45) —remember, the sun does not set at all in Scandinavia at this time of year! (46) .