The seventh in an occasional series.
Ten: Predatory seating
Nine: Culinary relativism
Eight: Preëmptive planning
Seven: Premature mastication
Six: Irrational discalceation
Five: Radiotjänst i Kiruna ABFour: Temporal engineering
It’s the longest day of the year, I’ve got front-row seats at Mosebacke terrace for a glorious slo-mo sunset that’s been turning Stockholm orange for hours, hot air balloons are wafting past a crescent moon, and I have the audacity to write about something I hate here.
Well, I have to. I’m writing a series about things I hate, not love, about Stockholm. To be honest, I was running out of subject matter, but that was before it was brought to my attention just last week that Midsommar — the summer solstice and Sweden’s most treasured day — is not on June 21 this year, but instead has been decreed to occur on June 26, because, well, it makes for a more convenient three-day holiday.
This is quite shocking. Latter-day druids everywhere are dancing around menhirs at this very moment; huge man-made structures in Latin America are perfectly aligned with the sun at great cost to previous generations; people in the Antarctic are suffering right now for this cause; and it is the one day that keeps Swedes going between November and March — but if nature has the gall to have the longest day happen on a day other than Saturday, Swedes reschedule it like it’s a dentist appointment.
How is this different from celebrating Christmas on December 27 — because the presents are cheaper? Cinco de Mayo on nuevo de Mayo? New Year’s on January 3? Would you mind? I thought so.
Last year, my first Midsommar did fall on a Saturday, so I was not then apprised of this cavalier attitude Swedes have towards the natural rhythms of nature. But I should have known better: Over the past 18 months, I’ve repeatedly butted against another example of this predilection for ruthless temporal engineering: The week-based calendar.
In my first Stockholm apartment, the hallway was swept by tenants according to a rotation posted on the communal bulletin board: Next to my name, it said “V.40-48-3-11…” Swedish readers already know what this means, but I had to ask a neighbor, who told me that it was my turn to clean on the 40th week of the year, on the 48th, och så vidare. And when might that be? “Look it up.”
Instead I guessed, and clearly wrongly, as everytime I thought it was my turn somebody else cleaned ahead of me that week. Nobody said anything, though. Maybe they were embarrassed about their calendar, and with good reason, as I have just had to delve into its fiendish machinations for the sake of this post. It is emphatically Napoleonic in its arbitrary rigidity: You’d think week 1 is always the week the new year starts on. You’d think wrong — In 2004, week 1 starts on Dec 29, 2003; in 2005, week 1 starts Jan 3, 2005. 2004 has 53 weeks, 2005 52. I’m surprised anyone cleans at all.
At a work-related meeting last week, I was asked if I would be in Stockholm during the 33rd week. “What, do I look pregnant to you?” is the retort I stopped myself from using, instead asking for a translation into western dates.
Maybe the adoption of the week as a calendaring tool was the gateway to all this insouciance regarding Midsommar: After all, it’s not as if the holiday is being moved out of week 26, so what’s the fuss?
Although I do work closely with week numbers, I have also lived through this man-made manipulation of normal calendar cycles.
In my experience a senator introduced a bill so that all holidays, with the exception of a few (that might be counted on one hand), to be moved from their ocurring day to the monday of that week. The law, which was passed with overwhelming support of the trade unions, also stipulates that if the holiday falls on a weekend, the proceeeding Monday must be a day off.
In my line of work, horticulture, this creates such a big problem for scheduling, cultural practices etc… I offered my employer I would work all of those “moved” holidays and the days would be added to my yearly vacation time. He liked the idea until he realized I would be off for over a fourth of the year… four-point-something months of paid vacation…. it would have been glorious!
To conclude the story, the senator is referred to by the folks in the trade union as a “saint” for having moved all of those religious and pagan holidays to Mondays.
I have no quarrel with the trade unions, but doesn’t this drive a blow at something in the sense of productivity (and hence well being of the general populace)?
No no Stefan, last year midsummers eve was also on a friday. It has been on fridays for a long time. http://susning.nu/Midsommarafton Midsummers day is on a saturday. And its to get less holidays, not more. I thought that would be something you would approve of?
But i do hate referring to weeks as well. Quite stupid idea 🙂
Anna, you are not disagreeing with me, but let me be pedantic nonetheless: If Midsommar is on a Saturday, Midsommarafton is automatically on a Friday, which is then taken off for a total of three days of weekend. This means that Sunday is available for hangover nurturing. It is certainly convenient if the longest day falls on a Saturday, then, but if it doesn’t, I say live with it.
“Midsommar” is WHEN?!
Midsommar is a BIG holiday here…second only to Christmas in terms of the size of the celebration/party, which is marked (as usual) on the eve of the actual event. In this case, the event is the summer solstice…which is technically the longest day …
“Midsommar” was WHEN?!
Midsommar is a BIG holiday here…second only to Christmas in terms of the size of the celebration/party, which is marked (as usual) on the eve of the actual event. In this case, the event is the summer solstice…which is technically the longest day…
I am also an American living abroad here and it took me a while as well to get used to the week system. One good thing about it though is that it let’s you look at the year with a more distanced view than if you think of it in terms of days, yet more detail than if you think in months… For example it allows you to compare more easily the subtle differences of which weeks flowers bloom or certain vegetables are in season, which Swedish people have a knack for paying attention to. It’s kind of fun to find another way of measuring time.
They do the same thing here in Denmark with Midsummer. It irks me to no end. I celebrated it on the day it was because to do otherwise would be very… not pious of me, and when you belong to an orthopraxic religion, it’s the doing that counts.
What happened to your two-week hiatus?
That’s what I want to know. Where the hell did that hiatus go?
Stefan! nueve de mayo. Nuevo de mayo is literally some new holiday I’ve never heard of.
Matthew– Stefan just owed it to his number one fan (the one who is most often the first to comment on his posts) to keep on blogging.
and who might that be?
Someone as close to his heart as the Earth is to its core, as you well know.
funny enough, losing the use of the week system was the easiest thing to do when moving to the US many years ago.
but i cannot espace the swedish rationalism even here. the swedish embassy here in DC is in charge of keeping Swedish culture alive, but nevertheless the cluster event according to convenience. the national day – june 6 – and midsummer celebration, which used to be a real party under a diff ambassador is now lumped inot on 3 hrs event w/ dry cake and lemonade during one saturday that fits the schedule of the ambassador. sad.
It kind of irritates me that you got all sorts of preconceptions about the culture you supposedly like. If you want to know why we don’t celebrate mid summer’s day on the astronomical solstice, you know you could ask somebody. It’s something everybody knows and Swedish people aren’t really the kinds that would be angry with you. It’s actually a Church thing: When Christianity was introduced in Sweden a couple of years ago, they were mad because we had all sorts of heathen celebrations. Most of these were re-christianized to have to do with a saint (this is long before protestantism) or in other ways connected to the Sundays. I’m not sure exactly what religious day they connected it with (the closest one, probably) but you can probably read a good book about it. It’s the same with Lucia, which is now named after saint (which it wasn’t in the beginning, of course).
Officially it’s to commemorate John the Baptist.
I Hate Sweden, Too
But not for the same reason as God, apparently. Why would anyone say God hates Sweden? It’s because those who would like to send homosexuals to jail feel threatened by Sweden having recently sentenced a preacher who wants to send…
As JonasH said, the summer solstice is not the same as midsommar but sommarsolståndet which falls on the 21st of June each year.
If the date of midsummer eve confuses you, what about the Första advent? It’s on Sunday four weeks before Christmas, or three weeks, if Christmas Eve itself is on a Sunday.
As for counting weeks, I don’t care for it either, but if you have ever owned a swedish calendar or day planner you could have figured it out.