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Joy S
Joy S
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5 out of 5
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Midsummer at Seurassi

  • July 7, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom
Midsummer at Seurassi

Midsummer is a really important celebration for the Finns. The actual festivities do not necessarily fall on the longest day itself but on the Friday closest to this date. Lots of people go off to the countryside, many couples get married but everyone parties.

We were lucky enough to be in Helsinki for the Midsummer celebrations. All shops, restaurants etc. close on Friday lunchtime and do not reopen again until Monday.

Helsinki's main Midsummer event was at Seurassi Open Air Museum. It is on a lovely green island, reached from the mainland by a footbridge. The museum has a collection of farmsteads, parsonages, rural churches, manor houses, and other old buildings all preserved and relocated from their original sites around the provinces of Finland. The 86 buildings have been arranged to form a complete replica of a country district, reflecting what life was like in various levels of rural society between the 18th and 20th centuries.

The location is fantastic - a nature-lover's paradise. You can wander on paths through green, leafy woods; there are ponds with ducks and swans and shallow beaches where you can paddle. Look out for wild strawberries in the grasses.

We left the city centre at 6pm on Midsummer night on bus 24. The bus was absolutely packed - it seemed like everyone left in the city was going to the same place. At Seurassi it cost 13 euros entrance - they only accepted cash, no cards.

There were lots of stalls with handicrafts, people singing and performing in traditional costume and in the centre of the island was a big stage with music and dancing. There were lots of food stalls selling sausages, paella and other titbits. Many people had brought their own picnics - we wished we had done this.

We saw a wedding at the island church - a bride and groom and their guests left the church and walked to a restaurant nearby.

In a large grassy area there were things for children to do and play with. They had wooden swings decorated with ribbons, ropes which sparked off enthusiastic and noisy tug-of-war competitions, and stilts to try out.

At 7pm the children's bonfire was lit at the water's edge. Lots of boats had moored up at the edge of the island to get the best view of the later bonfires. At 9pm they had the "community" bonfires and finally at 10pm the bridal couple lit the big main bonfire.

Later on there was music and dancing - which apparently would last all night. We had to leave at 10:30 because of our sleepy three year old son, but some people were just arriving then. It was amazing, strolling back across the beautiful island at that time of night, with the sun still shining brightly.

On the bus trip back to the city centre we saw bonfires burning at different spots along the coast - it felt like a really magical night.

From journal 5 Days in Helsinki

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