I'm from Norway and you are pretty spot on! Picking flowers and dream divination are a thing here as well, as are giant bonfires and bathing. The Swedes are taking their midsummer celebrations to a whole other level than Norwegians do tho, there it is a major celebration for just about everyone.
Swede here. Quite accurate, and a fine video. But we don't really say "maypole" (or "majstång") here - even though everyone would know what you meant if you said so. We say "midsommarstång", i.e. "midsummer pole". Also, "may" in this regard isn't directly referring to the month of May per se, but the actual practice of covering structures with leafwork, just like these poles really. It's apparently supposed to be known as "att maja" ("to may", a verb) to cover something in fresh leaves like this. I don't remember where I read it, but it should be rather easy to find out.
Hey Bente, great video again ♥I'm from North-East of France and the celebration here is called ""Feux de la Saint-Jean" (Bonfires of Saint-John) where people gather to listen to music, eat and play outdoors, then the big bonfire is lit at night. In another village in Moselle, the villagers light a giant wheel on fire and push it down the hill and the wheel must crash into the river. If that's the case, it is said that the harvests should be exceptional this year. Apparently the rituals vary by region, and almost every village has its own legend about the bonfires of Saint John depending on the regional folklore I suppose.
Thank you for covering both Scandinavian & Germanic traditions! I'm American with ancestry from all over northwest Europe, so it's often awkward deciding how to go about celebrating shared holidays. 🇩🇪🇸🇪🇩🇰🇳🇴🇳🇱🇧🇪🇨🇭🇫🇷🇬🇧🏴🇮🇪🏴 (yes, all of these! It gets tricky).😅
You’re welcome! One thing I have to mention though: Germanic =/= German!! These traditions I mentioned are German, not Germanic! I think it’s important to make that distinction
@@TheNorseWitchI'm glad you noticed that! My phone must have autocorrected. 🤦♀️ You did a wonderful job during your video clarifying that you were speaking specifically about Germany. I have a university degree in history, so I appreciate your research and use of primary sources over speculation, and that you took the time to be sure I understood the specifics of your video! 😊
I want to celebrate midsummer, but where I live, I can't do it the way they do in Europe. It's just too hot and dry for any kind of fire. I would spend this time praying for rain.
Don't worry, there's hot places in Europe too!! Haha. In Spain we celebrate it with bonfires at the beach and then when it's midnight we swim in the sea to cast away negativity. The celebration begins when the sun is setting so we don't have to endure the heat.
Midsummer is not big in Norway but there is usually a bonfire event where pepole meet up, eat BBQ and waffels and gather around the fire, this is usually held on a Saturday as close to Misdsummer as possible.
Hello from Canada! I just discovered your channel and I love it! The videos are so informative and soothing to listen to at the same time. If anybody needs me, I’ll be binge watching the Norse Witch for the next 7 hours 😂❤
Hi, I'm from Norway and the flower divination I learned when I was a teenager was to pick 7 different flowers and jump over 7 different fence gates. Then put the flowers under your pillow, and you would dream of the person you would marry. I guess the blot they ghad at midsummer would be like midwinter bloot an others. The God house = Hovet would be the center of celebration. In Hovet there would be figures representing the main gods like Odin, Tor, Frey and possibly other. There would offering of annimals, horses was important, blood wouls be spread on the figures the meat would be cooced and eaten. And there would be beer and mjød.
I’m Norwegian and I can’t remember ever seeing a Maypole in Southern parts of Norway where i live at least. A bon fire we do have, any excuse to light a fire, have a bbq whenever there is a hint of sun.
I also made an amazing tea if you would like to try it, it's sweet tea blessed by the Sun with two orange slices in mint, I'm now trying a different one same way just using raspberry tea instead of the orange slices, also blessed by the 🌞🌞
Your tea sounds delicious & I just happen to have an overabundance of mint in my garden! "Sweet tea"... are you American? I'm American & always need to explain just how sweet southern tea really is!
@@KellySmithDavis yes I am in the US, I'm in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina Southern sweet tea is so good is LuAnn sweet tea is already sweetened you don't have to add extra sugar it is so good, I too grow my herbs and I have plenty of mint it's one of my favorites
Latvian here - we celebrate Jāņi too! For us it is Līgo Day on the 23rd, followed by "John's Day" on the 24th. Making a fire, weaving new and burning old flower crowns (men make theirs from oak leaves), staying up until sunrise are all integral to the event, as well as consuming copious amounts of beer + fire-roasted cheeses and other foods. Lots of the old traditions are very much alive, though people implement them to varying degrees.
"Bathing" in the morning dew is definintely something I have done, as well as jumping over the fire (or over the embers for the more sensible), and the traditional lot will also have folk singing and folk dancing for hours on end.
In Denmark where we come from, it’s definitely a witch and she sits on the top of the bonfire (which is at least 20 feet tall). It’s supposed to be the night Danish witches fly to Brocksbjerg. Just like Walpurgisnacht in Germany.
I'm an American who was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago and when I got a tattoo to honor my journey. The tattoo artist told me she is pagan and I was really interested. She introduced me to pagan music in her shop and I love it! I'm new to this, but as someone who is of Mexican, Spanish, Irish, Russian, German, and Cherokee Native American descend. I've watched your teaching and I feel like Frayha (I hope I spelled her name right) is the goddess for me. I want to honor her in my journey of hearing and moving on after I'm done with Cancer treatment in November. How should I start and what tools do I need, or should I study her more, cause I don't feel like I know her at all yet. I'm a new subscriber to you channel. 🙂🙂
Yes, I realized at after I wrote it. I’m American and usually go off of saying it how it sounds and I also know people named that way. Sorry Bente. Keep doing what you do :)
I liked your previous video on celebrations and this one because it made me realize that as things (climate) change, celebrations can change too, now I appreciate more having Christmas in summer
Hi from Russia 🇷🇺 Love your videos and your TH-cam channel! Always informative and inspiring, thank you ❤ I'm definitely going to try some of the Midsummer traditions you mentioned in this video
Hi from the US. I’m pagan and a witch. I’m a Sagittarius sun. It’s the summer solstice here, today. Tomorrow is the full moon in Capricorn. I didn’t do much today. I lit a few candles and I’m going to do a meditation before bed. I’m hoping to do more tomorrow. I worked all day today and have to go work all day tomorrow in a hot warehouse. At least, tomorrow is Friday. It’s been very hot weather here. I’m thinking about trying to make sun tea, and make that my spell work. Magic in the mundane for this busy single mom. 😅
It's interesting to me that in England the name Midsummer stuck around too just like in Sweden! And I think there were similar traditions to do with large fires and of jumping over a fire holding hands with your lover, but I think those traditions migrated to May Day (Beltaine in neopaganism)
I just made a beautiful protection charm made from the oak tree, with a nail / metal for protection and a leaf wrap in hemp, it calls for Rowan I cannot find that, so I had to put my own twist on this charm, it was supposed to be a Celtic charm for protection and well-being, anyhow it turned out so so pretty, thank you for sharing your video
I have to know where you got the picture in the backdrop behind the star candle holder. I love everything about it 😍 for me this year my birthday always falls a few days after midsummer so I made a money bowl since I hadn’t in a while and a solar return spell for my birthday 🖤
It's crazy how similar those practices are across the world! I am from Ukraine and around Midsummer we selebrate Ivana Kupala(Івана Купала, Kupala's Night). Traditionally we do lots of things you mentioned, such as burning straw "witch", jumping over the fire etc. Also it's believed that you have to be really carefull around bodies of water\forests that night, cuz you might be drowned by mermaids\sirens or be taken by chorts and stuff😅 My grandma also told me, when I was a child, that on the Kupala's Night, if you brave enough, you can find mysterious fern flower in a forest that could give you supernatural powers such as understanding language of animals and plants
I have been pagan or interested in paganism for years, but have not followed the holidays until now. This is the first summer solstice I will consciously experience. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm looking forward to it. I will probably pray to the gods and especially to the sun and make a ritual. Happy summer solstice 💛💚
I really enjoy your cultural videos. According to a DNA test, I have a bit of Germanic ancestry. I think it's from intermingling with their neighbors, the Poles (which is the majority of my ancestry). So I like that you look into German sources because they'd have shared customs with the Scandinavians, just as they did with the Poles. By watching your videos, I learn a bit about that and what my ancestors may have done ^^
It was forbidden, cause it makes us happy! 😂 I'm working with Mermaida for Midsummer. I'll be swimming a bit after Midsummer. I want to try the dream flowers. 7 for the fae, but I agree. Interesting I practice the walk thing already. I like the idea of walking on Midsummer eve twilight anyway. You could use your local native plants. Yeah Leo sun with lots of 5th house influence. Funny, I've been feeling the personal need to embrace the sun's darkness. THank you. You look awesome today! Yeah, the sun only comes up once i n some colder places. I forget where. I think in Finland it's something like 3 months, but may depend upon the part. I read it and forgot. Whoops.
My personal experience…. There is a standstill on each Solstice. A three day period… of pause to allow in the longest day- what am I bringing and nurturing. On the shortest day/longest night- what am I letting go for the next growing season?
My ancestors are mostly Scandinavian, the rest of my blood is European…. I am American, but in my 30 years of contemplating being Pagan since I was 17 - a young adult…I hope everyone many insights to be your best version of yourself at this time. This is what I have found to be most profound. 💜💜💜
I know I am saying too much of my opinion. There is a pause in each breath…. The switch between the in breath and out breath- there is a pause. I think that current culture may not take into account (for Americans especially) in the blessing of a pause.
Before this, my only knowledge on the old holiday in Sweden came from a horror movie called Midsommar that is more focused on indoctrinating the audience than getting anything historically accurate, great film tho!
Does Bente look like a train conductor in this video to anyone else? I think it's the hat that's reminding me of the stereotype. It's a really cute look, though Bente would probably look great in anything. Still it's nice.
I mean sure there are some Sweden inspired more modern festivities which basically mimic the Swedish midsommar, but as far as I know maypoles are not a traditional part of summer solstice celebrations around here
I'm from Norway and you are pretty spot on! Picking flowers and dream divination are a thing here as well, as are giant bonfires and bathing. The Swedes are taking their midsummer celebrations to a whole other level than Norwegians do tho, there it is a major celebration for just about everyone.
Thank you for the information! ☺️ I will pin this comment ☺️
the Swedes does not have 17th of May as a day to celebrite... I wonder if they save up all their energy of enjoying the spring/summer for midsummer???
Swede here. Quite accurate, and a fine video. But we don't really say "maypole" (or "majstång") here - even though everyone would know what you meant if you said so. We say "midsommarstång", i.e. "midsummer pole". Also, "may" in this regard isn't directly referring to the month of May per se, but the actual practice of covering structures with leafwork, just like these poles really.
It's apparently supposed to be known as "att maja" ("to may", a verb) to cover something in fresh leaves like this. I don't remember where I read it, but it should be rather easy to find out.
Hey Bente, great video again ♥I'm from North-East of France and the celebration here is called ""Feux de la Saint-Jean" (Bonfires of Saint-John) where people gather to listen to music, eat and play outdoors, then the big bonfire is lit at night.
In another village in Moselle, the villagers light a giant wheel on fire and push it down the hill and the wheel must crash into the river. If that's the case, it is said that the harvests should be exceptional this year.
Apparently the rituals vary by region, and almost every village has its own legend about the bonfires of Saint John depending on the regional folklore I suppose.
Thank you for covering both Scandinavian & Germanic traditions! I'm American with ancestry from all over northwest Europe, so it's often awkward deciding how to go about celebrating shared holidays. 🇩🇪🇸🇪🇩🇰🇳🇴🇳🇱🇧🇪🇨🇭🇫🇷🇬🇧🏴🇮🇪🏴 (yes, all of these! It gets tricky).😅
You’re welcome! One thing I have to mention though: Germanic =/= German!! These traditions I mentioned are German, not Germanic! I think it’s important to make that distinction
@@TheNorseWitchI'm glad you noticed that! My phone must have autocorrected. 🤦♀️ You did a wonderful job during your video clarifying that you were speaking specifically about Germany. I have a university degree in history, so I appreciate your research and use of primary sources over speculation, and that you took the time to be sure I understood the specifics of your video! 😊
@KellySmithDavis Thank you for not being mad about my comment xD
I feel you on this! American with 🇩🇪🇬🇧🏴🇮🇪🇸🇯🇸🇪 ancestry. I never quite know whose traditions to go for.
I want to celebrate midsummer, but where I live, I can't do it the way they do in Europe. It's just too hot and dry for any kind of fire. I would spend this time praying for rain.
I feel this! The heat index is already at almost 100 degrees F here
I mean, then maybe Midsummer just isn’t for you… it would make more sense to celebrate something that aligns with the climate you live in ☺️
@@TheNorseWitch I suppose. Midsummer feels like something to endure rather than celebrate.
Don't worry, there's hot places in Europe too!! Haha. In Spain we celebrate it with bonfires at the beach and then when it's midnight we swim in the sea to cast away negativity. The celebration begins when the sun is setting so we don't have to endure the heat.
@sararubicubi I love that!
Midsummer is not big in Norway but there is usually a bonfire event where pepole meet up, eat BBQ and waffels and gather around the fire, this is usually held on a Saturday as close to Misdsummer as possible.
Hello from Canada! I just discovered your channel and I love it! The videos are so informative and soothing to listen to at the same time. If anybody needs me, I’ll be binge watching the Norse Witch for the next 7 hours 😂❤
🥹😭❤️
I’m a pagan from England and from the Viking group the black wolves I love your videos thank you for them 😊
Hi, I'm from Norway and the flower divination I learned when I was a teenager was to pick 7 different flowers and jump over 7 different fence gates. Then put the flowers under your pillow, and you would dream of the person you would marry. I guess the blot they ghad at midsummer would be like midwinter bloot an others. The God house = Hovet would be the center of celebration. In Hovet there would be figures representing the main gods like Odin, Tor, Frey and possibly other. There would offering of annimals, horses was important, blood wouls be spread on the figures the meat would be cooced and eaten. And there would be beer and mjød.
I’m Norwegian and I can’t remember ever seeing a Maypole in Southern parts of Norway where i live at least. A bon fire we do have, any excuse to light a fire, have a bbq whenever there is a hint of sun.
Great video! Can confirm as a worshipper of Sulis, the Sun's wrath is great for banes and justice magic 🤭🌞
I love Midsummer in Denmark. We call it Sankt Hans - St Johns Eve
I also made an amazing tea if you would like to try it, it's sweet tea blessed by the Sun with two orange slices in mint, I'm now trying a different one same way just using raspberry tea instead of the orange slices, also blessed by the 🌞🌞
That sounds delightful!
Your tea sounds delicious & I just happen to have an overabundance of mint in my garden! "Sweet tea"... are you American? I'm American & always need to explain just how sweet southern tea really is!
@@KellySmithDavis yes I am in the US, I'm in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina Southern sweet tea is so good is LuAnn sweet tea is already sweetened you don't have to add extra sugar it is so good, I too grow my herbs and I have plenty of mint it's one of my favorites
Latvian here - we celebrate Jāņi too! For us it is Līgo Day on the 23rd, followed by "John's Day" on the 24th. Making a fire, weaving new and burning old flower crowns (men make theirs from oak leaves), staying up until sunrise are all integral to the event, as well as consuming copious amounts of beer + fire-roasted cheeses and other foods. Lots of the old traditions are very much alive, though people implement them to varying degrees.
"Bathing" in the morning dew is definintely something I have done, as well as jumping over the fire (or over the embers for the more sensible), and the traditional lot will also have folk singing and folk dancing for hours on end.
I absolutely love your videos, could you do one on the strawberry moon?!?! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
I already did videos on the full and new moons in all of the zodiac signs. ☺️ they’re all in a playlist on my channel
In Denmark where we come from, it’s definitely a witch and she sits on the top of the bonfire (which is at least 20 feet tall). It’s supposed to be the night Danish witches fly to Brocksbjerg. Just like Walpurgisnacht in Germany.
I'm an American who was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago and when I got a tattoo to honor my journey. The tattoo artist told me she is pagan and I was really interested. She introduced me to pagan music in her shop and I love it! I'm new to this, but as someone who is of Mexican, Spanish, Irish, Russian, German, and Cherokee Native American descend. I've watched your teaching and I feel like Frayha (I hope I spelled her name right) is the goddess for me. I want to honor her in my journey of hearing and moving on after I'm done with Cancer treatment in November. How should I start and what tools do I need, or should I study her more, cause I don't feel like I know her at all yet. I'm a new subscriber to you channel. 🙂🙂
Hi Benta. Love your videos
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoy them ☺️ my name is written „Bente“ btw ☺️
Yes, I realized at after I wrote it. I’m American and usually go off of saying it how it sounds and I also know people named that way. Sorry Bente. Keep doing what you do :)
I liked your previous video on celebrations and this one because it made me realize that as things (climate) change, celebrations can change too, now I appreciate more having Christmas in summer
Hi from Russia 🇷🇺
Love your videos and your TH-cam channel!
Always informative and inspiring, thank you ❤
I'm definitely going to try some of the Midsummer traditions you mentioned in this video
Hi from the US. I’m pagan and a witch. I’m a Sagittarius sun. It’s the summer solstice here, today. Tomorrow is the full moon in Capricorn. I didn’t do much today. I lit a few candles and I’m going to do a meditation before bed. I’m hoping to do more tomorrow. I worked all day today and have to go work all day tomorrow in a hot warehouse. At least, tomorrow is Friday. It’s been very hot weather here. I’m thinking about trying to make sun tea, and make that my spell work. Magic in the mundane for this busy single mom. 😅
It's interesting to me that in England the name Midsummer stuck around too just like in Sweden! And I think there were similar traditions to do with large fires and of jumping over a fire holding hands with your lover, but I think those traditions migrated to May Day (Beltaine in neopaganism)
I just made a beautiful protection charm made from the oak tree, with a nail / metal for protection and a leaf wrap in hemp, it calls for Rowan I cannot find that, so I had to put my own twist on this charm, it was supposed to be a Celtic charm for protection and well-being, anyhow it turned out so so pretty, thank you for sharing your video
I have to know where you got the picture in the backdrop behind the star candle holder. I love everything about it 😍 for me this year my birthday always falls a few days after midsummer so I made a money bowl since I hadn’t in a while and a solar return spell for my birthday 🖤
Completely off topic but I love your hat 🫶🏻 Great video too, very informative✨
It's crazy how similar those practices are across the world! I am from Ukraine and around Midsummer we selebrate Ivana Kupala(Івана Купала, Kupala's Night). Traditionally we do lots of things you mentioned, such as burning straw "witch", jumping over the fire etc.
Also it's believed that you have to be really carefull around bodies of water\forests that night, cuz you might be drowned by mermaids\sirens or be taken by chorts and stuff😅
My grandma also told me, when I was a child, that on the Kupala's Night, if you brave enough, you can find mysterious fern flower in a forest that could give you supernatural powers such as understanding language of animals and plants
I love the mysterious fern flower! 🥹❤️
I have been pagan or interested in paganism for years, but have not followed the holidays until now. This is the first summer solstice I will consciously experience. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm looking forward to it. I will probably pray to the gods and especially to the sun and make a ritual. Happy summer solstice 💛💚
Can you make a video on what you eat and how you take care of your yourself witchy like?
Very cool video sister! ❤ lovely insight.
Thank you brother ❤️❤️
I really enjoy your cultural videos. According to a DNA test, I have a bit of Germanic ancestry. I think it's from intermingling with their neighbors, the Poles (which is the majority of my ancestry). So I like that you look into German sources because they'd have shared customs with the Scandinavians, just as they did with the Poles. By watching your videos, I learn a bit about that and what my ancestors may have done ^^
It was forbidden, cause it makes us happy! 😂 I'm working with Mermaida for Midsummer. I'll be swimming a bit after Midsummer. I want to try the dream flowers. 7 for the fae, but I agree. Interesting I practice the walk thing already. I like the idea of walking on Midsummer eve twilight anyway. You could use your local native plants. Yeah Leo sun with lots of 5th house influence. Funny, I've been feeling the personal need to embrace the sun's darkness. THank you. You look awesome today! Yeah, the sun only comes up once i n some colder places. I forget where. I think in Finland it's something like 3 months, but may depend upon the part. I read it and forgot. Whoops.
Picking flowers for dreaming and maybe seeing a future partner (mostly husbands...) is a thing here in Denmark. A really old tradition and folklore.
Oh Yeay! I’d only ever heard of it from Sweden, thank you so much for sharing! 🥰
@@TheNorseWitch You're welcome. My mom told me and practices it with me and my siblings when I was little. She was told by her grandmother.
Happy Summer Solstice! 🔥💚
It's funny that in Spain celebrations are, if not the same, very similar! 24th June is San Juan (St John) ❤❤❤❤
Some of my ancestors are from Germany
That’s cool! 🥰
I luv your kitty tattoo! And your feline friend, too. Kitty looks totally chil.
My personal experience…. There is a standstill on each Solstice. A three day period… of pause to allow in the longest day- what am I bringing and nurturing. On the shortest day/longest night- what am I letting go for the next growing season?
My ancestors are mostly Scandinavian, the rest of my blood is European…. I am American, but in my 30 years of contemplating being Pagan since I was 17 - a young adult…I hope everyone many insights to be your best version of yourself at this time. This is what I have found to be most profound. 💜💜💜
I know I am saying too much of my opinion. There is a pause in each breath…. The switch between the in breath and out breath- there is a pause. I think that current culture may not take into account (for Americans especially) in the blessing of a pause.
Great video! Sehr informativ
Danke sehr 🥰
The part about sweden having different date is a recent one, sadly about greed
Thank you, Benta.
Great video! Would many of these traditions also be found in Anglo-Saxon Britain? (Just remembering the Bernard Cornwell books I’ve read)
I can’t tell you anything about that unfortunately, I’ve never researched any Anglo-Saxon traditions :/
Before this, my only knowledge on the old holiday in Sweden came from a horror movie called Midsommar that is more focused on indoctrinating the audience than getting anything historically accurate, great film tho!
Does Bente look like a train conductor in this video to anyone else? I think it's the hat that's reminding me of the stereotype. It's a really cute look, though Bente would probably look great in anything. Still it's nice.
I never thought of train conductor when I saw the hat, more of fisherman, but it’s a vibe 🤣🤣🤣
No maypoles in germany? We have them in Austria 😊 thanks for the interesting video!
I mean sure there are some Sweden inspired more modern festivities which basically mimic the Swedish midsommar, but as far as I know maypoles are not a traditional part of summer solstice celebrations around here
Are there any resources about the connection between Germany and the Scandinavian countries which you can recommend?
🖤