Sankt Hans Aften (1)

In Scandinavia, including Denmark, a big holiday in the summer time is the mid-summer solstice called Sankt Hans Aften (Evening). It takes place on June 23rd. It is a very big holiday in Sweden. Last year my MSc thesis was due around that time and I remember my advisor saying, don't bother sending anything to me between June 19-23, I will be enjoying mid-summer festival! In Denmark, it is not such a big holiday but it is still celebrated by many.

According to wikipedia - this is what its all about: Mid-summer is the day where the medieval wise men and women (the doctors of that time) would gather special herbs that they needed for the rest of the year to cure people. It has been celebrated since the times of the Vikings by visiting healing water wells and making a large bonfire to ward away evil spirits. Today the water well tradition is gone. Bonfires on the beach, speeches, picnics and songs are traditional, although bonfires are built in many other places where beaches may not be close by (i.e. on the shores of lakes and other waterways, parks, etc.).

Our Sankt Hans Aften this year involved a nice bbq with Peter a fellow former forestry student, actually the one that actually introduced Morten and I to each other about 2 1/2 years ago. Here are the guys heating up the grill, its a hot job, beers were definitely in order!















Peter has a small garden plot of about 50 square meters in an area with other similar sized gardens on the outskirts of Copenhagen. In this garden area the owner of a plot can have a small hut to store tools, supplies, and have some garden furniture - BUT one is not allowed to live in the little hut or sleep overnight there. You can be there until late at night but you can't sleep there. Here is a picture of Peter's tool shed.















Its not expensive to have one of these gardens, but it is quite hard to get one - you have to be 'in the know' so to speak. Peter happened to have the right timing to get his. The big garden area has two buildings with stoves and inside seating if you want to have a small party there as well as restrooms. Owners are required to attend to their gardens regularly or they could be evicted... so with the opportunity comes responsibility too! Here is a pic of part of the garden area.