Skt Hans

It was the big midsummer celebration of Sankt Hans here today. In Medieval times the day was considered so spiritual that most of the herbs used for medicinal purposes were gathered. Bonfires were also lit to ward away evil spirits. Nowadays, people celebrate by getting together, eating and drinking, and then watching the bonfire being lit! A straw witch is usually placed on top, as tradionally people believed that the witch would go to Bloksberg in Germany where the great witch gathering was thought to be held. Try explaining that to two happy but bewildered children, who were turfed out of bed by their over enthusiastic parents, eager for them to witness a Scandinavian tradition! We stayed for around 45 minutes to watch the bonfire being lit (and swat away the mosquitos) and then wheeled them back home to bed. I asked them the next day if they remembered getting up but neither of them seemed too sure!