Midsummer in Sweden - Maypole

Midsummer in Sweden, originally uploaded by Silva_D.

In Sweden the Maypole is usually called a midsommarstång, as it appears at the Midsummer celebrations, but it is also called majstång, as the word maja means to decorate with greens and that is exactly how most Swedes decorate them. They appear in many varieties, the most common being a cross with two rings hanging from the "arms" and the pole is popularly identified with the male sex and the rings with the female.[citation needed] Garlands of leaves and flowers are usually wrapped around the pole.
Sometimes a crown of flowers is placed on top of the maypole, supported by the ribbons, so that it gradually descends the pole as the ribbons are woven together, finally falling to the ground.



Today maypole dances are often done without dividing the participants by gender, simply having them in pairs facing one another so half go one way and half go the other.


In Sweden similar traditions were once observed but today the pole is the centre of traditional ring dances, the songs being more or less the same as during the dances around the Christmas tree. Arrangements are usually made by local traditional groups. Swedish speaking parts of Finland often celebrate Midsummer with a midsommarstång as well.