Ah, Swedish Midsummer, the magical time of year when the entire nation collectively decides to dance around a giant floral maypole and pretend that singing about small frogs is completely normal. It’s a cultural phenomenon steeped in tradition, mystery, herring, and the occasional hangover. Everyone talks about the beauty of it, the flower crowns, the midnight sun... but let’s be real. There’s a lot they leave out.

So, whether you're a Swede abroad, an expat in Sweden, or just someone who thinks IKEA is the most exotic thing north of Düsseldorf, here are 7 things no one tells you about Midsummer (but absolutely should).

1. It's Basically a National Herring-Eating Contest

Everyone talks about the flower crowns and dancing, but let’s not ignore the true heart of Midsummer: pickled herring. In all its vinegary glory. There's sill with mustard, sill with dill, sill with onions, even sill with curry. You didn’t even know herring came in this many forms. No one tells you that by the end of the day, you’ll have consumed more herring than any one person reasonably should in a calendar year.

And if you're new to it? Just smile and pretend you like it. That’s what everyone else is doing.

2. The Weather Will Betray You (Without Fail)

Swedes are eternal optimists during Midsummer. Every year they plan garden parties, rent summer cottages, and lay out picnic blankets like this will be the year it doesn’t rain. It will rain. It always rains. Sometimes it rains sideways. Sometimes it snows. In June.

Yet still, Swedes will continue to eat outside, wrapped in wool blankets and clinging to their meatballs like survivors of a culinary shipwreck.

3. You’re Going to Sing. A Lot. And Probably About Animals.

Forget karaoke—this is a full-blown amphibian musical revue. You’ll find yourself locked in a circle of dancing people, singing about how frogs don’t have ears or tails (they don’t, by the way. It’s biologically accurate).

There’s also a song about little pigs. And one about schnapps being the best friend of mankind. No one tells you how many animals are involved. It’s like a barnyard flash mob set to folk music.

4. Schnapps is Not a Suggestion. It’s a Lifestyle.

Speaking of schnapps—oh dear. No one warns you how intense it is. It’s not just a drink. It’s a cultural institution. With every serving of food, you’re supposed to stop, raise your glass, sing a song (usually extremely loud and out of tune), and then down the drink like a Viking after pillaging Lindisfarne.

By the end of the evening, you're full of fish, vaguely dizzy, and have sung a 19-verse ode to potato vodka.

5. You Will Try to Make a Flower Crown and Fail Miserably

You’ve seen the Instagram photos. Everyone looking radiant with their hand-woven wildflower crowns like they walked out of an ABBA music video. What no one tells you is that making a flower crown is harder than building IKEA furniture with no instructions.

Your first attempt will look like something a goat sat on. You will panic, borrow your friend's, and pretend you made it. And yes, everyone is doing that too.

6. The Daylight Will Confuse Your Soul

Depending on where in Sweden you are, it might not get dark at all. Midnight sun is romantic in theory—until it’s 2 AM and your brain refuses to shut off because it looks like lunchtime outside.

You’ll lie in bed with jetlag-level confusion, birds chirping, and the faint sound of someone still singing "Små grodorna" in the distance.

7. It’s the Most Beautiful, Bizarre, and Beloved Holiday You’ll Ever Experience

Despite the rain, the sill, the questionable singing, and the fact that you accidentally proposed to someone while doing a frog dance (true story), Midsummer is pure Swedish magic.

It’s a celebration of nature, light, togetherness, and ancestral weirdness. It’s a time when Swedes let loose, when shy neighbors become schnapps-fueled karaoke stars, and when strangers become friends over a shared bowl of boiled new potatoes with dill.

If you're a Swede abroad, celebrate it anyway. Host a party. Import some knäckebröd. Startle your neighbors by dancing around a broomstick in your backyard. Tell them it’s cultural.

They’ll never understand it. But that’s okay. Sometimes the best things in life are a little strange.

Final Thoughts...

Midsummer is like IKEA meatballs: confusing in concept, oddly constructed, but once you get into it, totally addictive.

Skål! 🌸🐸🥂