Friday, October 10, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Midsummer – a celebration of life, love and magic

Midsummer is an ancient Nordic tradition that is still very much alive today, particularly in Sweden. Throughout history, there has been a perception that this time of year holds a special kind of magic, that the veil to the supraphysical world is thinner than at other times of the year. Over the years, this special day has been celebrated in a variety of innovative ways.

Published 20 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
5 minute read

Midsummer marks the definitive arrival of summer. It means exactly what it sounds like, “in the middle of summer,” and the word already existed in Old Swedish as miþsumar. The holiday is celebrated in connection with the summer solstice, which is the time of year when the sun is at its highest point in the northern hemisphere. Midsummer Eve is always celebrated on a Friday.


This article was first published on June 21, 2024.


In northern Europe, midsummer has long been celebrated in conjunction with the Christian holiday of John the Baptist, which is also the reason why Saturday has become a public holiday. In Finland this holiday is primarily called Juhannus, in reference to John the Baptist. Denmark and Norway also celebrate John the Baptist’s evening by lighting bonfires and playing games. John the Baptist’s Day is also celebrated to some extent in Germany, but generally the summer solstice celebrations in the rest of Europe are fairly limited.

Ancient roots

It is not clear for how long Midsummer has been celebrated, as it seems to date back to prehistoric times, but it is definitely known that it has been celebrated in the Nordic countries at least since the Middle Ages.

However, very little is known about how Midsummer was celebrated in the Middle Ages. There are hints that the celebration was related to fertility and some older sources that show that there was ritual beer drinking and also blot – ritual animal sacrifice – during the Viking Age.

Photo: Håkan Dahlström/CC BY 2.0

Summer cleaning and little frogs

From around the middle of the 19th century, there is more clear evidence of how the celebrations were carried out in Sweden.. One important step was to clean the entire house, then dress the house both inside and outside with flowers and leaves from birch trees, among other things. The festive locations were also decorated with leaves, as were the wagons in which people traveled. Outside the house, leaf bushes were placed, which the farmers could also sell to the townspeople.

The midsummer pole has its origins in the May Day celebrations when a so-called maypole is erected in Germany and other parts of the world. The tradition probably came from Germany to Sweden in the Middle Ages, but since the Nordic countries rarely have time to start greening during May, this tradition was moved to the Midsummer celebrations. There is a widespread belief that the midsummer pole is dedicated to fertility and thus may represent some kind of phallic symbol, although there is no confirmation of this from known historical sources.

The midsummer pole has had different designs over the years, but during the 20th century the appearance was standardized and the midsummer poles became increasingly similar all over the country. Dancing around the midsummer pole has probably existed since at least the 19th century, says Jonas Engman, curator at the Nordic Museum.

But the dance with songs took off in the 1920s. This era saw the publication of songbooks with melodies and lyrics associated with holiday celebrations.

Perhaps the most classic Swedish midsummer song – Små grodorna (the little frogs) – has been traced to a military march from the French Revolution called La Chanson de l’Oignon, or The Onion Song. This song was turned into a taunt by English soldiers, replacing the word camarade (comrade) with grenouille  (frog). It is unclear when or how the song came to Sweden, but it is known that it has existed for a long time at Nääs Castle in Västergötland in connection with courses in handicrafts and games, where The little frogs was a game taught there and printed in the singing games book Sånglekar från Nääs in 1922. The singing of The little frogs is typically associated with jumping around the midsummer pole in a frog-like manner.

Food

What people used to eat around Midsummer depended on where they were in the country. Different types of fish, but also pork and other meat have all been part of the feast in different places. White porridge, that is, porridge cooked with milk and often also with wheat flour, is a dish that was common as a festive meal in various places. A Swedish filbunke, or viili in Finnish, is a fermented milk dish similar to yogurt or kefir which also used to be a common feature of the midsummer feast.

In modern times, herring and new potatoes constitute the core of the menu, along with the classic strawberries. Spirits of various kinds are just as essential – together with a good snapsvisa, of course! A snapsvisa is a traditional Scandinavian drinking song, often with comical lyrics.

Photo: Magnus D/CC BY 2.0

Midsummer magic

It has long been thought that the boundaries to the supraphysical reality were thinner during Midsummer. Everything that grew was considered to be charged with magical powers, especially during this time. It was therefore common, for example, to tie a wreath during Midsummer and save it. For the same reason, there was also a belief that one could regain energy during the winter by placing a dried midsummer wreath in the annual Christmas bath.

Midsummer dew, in particular, was considered to have special powers and it was not uncommon to roll around naked in it, or to collect the dew in sheets, for example, because it was thought to improve health. Drinking from springs was also common during Midsummer, which was considered beneficial to the body and mind. However, all activities involving any kind of magical aspects would be done in silence, so as not to break their mystical effect.

Keeping silent at certain special places could also bring visions of the future. For example, it was common to walk the so-called årsgång (year walk), which could involve walking counter-clockwise around a church or other holy place on an empty stomach.

– If the ‘yearwalker’ completed the entire ritual, on the way home he would experience sights or sounds that told him about events in the coming year, says Tora Wall, folklorist at the Nordic Museum.

Night of love

Midsummer has long been associated primarily with love. Many young women in Sweden still pick their seven or nine flowers and put them under their pillow to find out who they are going to marry.

“The Midsummer night is not long but sets seven and seventy cradles in motion” is an old Swedish rhyme.

Another way to predict one’s future partner was to eat a dream porridge made of flour, water and a lot of salt. The person who came later in the dream and gave you a drink to quench your thirst was your future partner. The type of drink could also give a hint as to whether you would have a richer or poorer life together.

Young people often arranged mock weddings and could choose a midsummer bride and groom, often each with their own floral wreath. It was also not uncommon for girls to tie wreaths to the boys to show that they were a couple.

A de facto national day in Sweden

In Sweden, the National Day celebration on June 6, commemorating the coronation of Gustav Vasa in 1523, has traditionally not been as big a holiday as National Day is in many other countries. One of several explanations for this, in addition to the long period of peace in Sweden, is probably that the nearby Midsummer celebration has de facto been the really big and obvious holiday alongside the more quiet Christmas.

That said, we would like to wish all readers a glad midsommar!

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Moomin becomes new feature film

Published today 7:21
– By Editorial Staff
Moomin and his friends have spread warmth, security and adventure to generations of children and adults around the world.
1 minute read

Moomin is set to be produced as a new American animated feature film. This will be the first Hollywood adaptation of Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson’s beloved stories.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the magical Moomin troll, something that has been celebrated in both Finland and Sweden, where the troll is a cherished cultural figure.

Moomin, created by Finnish-Swedish author Tove Jansson, was previously produced as an animated feature film in Japan in 1992. There was also a Japanese-Finnish animated series that first aired in 1990 and became very popular internationally.

Now Hollywood will interpret the idyllic magic of Moominvalley, where Moomin and his friends embark on adventures, writes Moomin Characters, which manages the Moomin rights.

“We are honored”

The film will be produced by media company Annapurna’s animation division, which was founded in 2022 by former Disney animation executives Robert Baird and Andrew Millstein and is known for the Oscar-nominated film Nimona.

We’re honored to bring Tove Jansson’s timeless vision to the big screen, say Baird and Millstein.

It will be written and directed by Rebecca Sugar, known for the Cartoon Network series Steven Universe. Additionally, it will be produced by Julia Pistor, who is behind animated films such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Rugrats.

Earlier this year, Norwegian game developer Hyper Games also announced that they will release a new Moomin game. The game will be called Winter’s Warmth and is based on the book Moominland Midwinter.

YouTubers invest in their own businesses – ad revenues are unpredictable

Published 6 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has the world's largest YouTube channel with 442 million subscribers.
2 minute read

More and more YouTube personalities are reducing their dependence on ad revenue and brand partnerships and instead building their own business empires. The reason is that advertising income is unpredictable and can disappear overnight when the platform changes its policies.

YouTube has evolved into a gigantic platform that has contributed over $55 billion to the US GDP and created more than 490,000 full-time jobs. But despite the platform’s success, many of the most successful content creators have realized that it’s risky to rely solely on ad revenue, writes TechCrunch.

Many of the biggest channels have now transformed into vertically integrated media companies with product lines, physical stores and consumer brands that can survive algorithm changes. In several cases, these side businesses are growing faster than the YouTube channels themselves.

MrBeast leads the development

Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast with 442 million subscribers, is the platform’s most aggressive entrepreneur. His chocolate brand Feastables generated around $250 million in revenue in 2024 with over $20 million in profit – significantly more profitable than his YouTube content which lost approximately $80 million the same year. The first product sold over one million units and generated more than $10 million within 72 hours.

Donaldson also runs the food brand Lunchly, the toy series MrBeast Lab, the burger concept MrBeast Burger and the analytics platform Viewstats. Now he plans to establish his own mobile network.

Coffee and energy drinks as goldmine

Emma Chamberlain, with over 12 million subscribers, launched her coffee brand Chamberlain Coffee in 2019. In 2023, the brand reached approximately $20 million in revenue and in January opened its first physical store. Revenue is expected to grow by over 50 percent in 2025 and reach more than $33 million.

Logan Paul created the energy drink Prime together with KSI, which surpassed $1.2 billion in sales in 2023. However, sales have declined sharply, particularly in the United Kingdom where revenue fell by approximately 70 percent between 2023 and 2024.

Children’s audience and beauty products

Ryan’s World, hosted by 13-year-old Ryan Kaji, has expanded its brand through toys and clothing that reportedly generated over $250 million in revenue in 2020.

Within the beauty industry, Michelle Phan has founded the subscription service Ipsy and the makeup brand EM Cosmetics, while Huda Kattan built Huda Beauty which generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Other well-known makeup brands from YouTube influencers include Jeffree Star Cosmetics and Tati Beauty, showing that the beauty industry continues to be an attractive area for content creators who want to build their own business empires.

Six kilos of medieval silver treasure found in Stockholm

Published 19 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The silver coins have been dated to the 12th century and were likely minted when Knut Eriksson was king of Sweden.
2 minute read

A private individual has discovered a significant silver treasure from medieval times. The treasure, which could likely be one of the largest ever found, contains among other things up to 20,000 coins from the 12th century.

The silver treasure was discovered by a person digging for worms just outside Stockholm, Sweden, who contacted the County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen). It was found in a copper cauldron and contained approximately six kilos of silver coins, pendants, pearls and silver rings.

This is probably one of the largest silver treasures from the early medieval period that has been found in Sweden. We don’t yet know exactly how many coins there are, but I believe it could be up to 20,000. Most of the objects are well preserved, but unfortunately the copper cauldron they were stored in is not as well preserved, says Sofia Andersson, who is an antiquarian at the Stockholm County Administrative Board, in a press release.

The silver coins have been dated to the 12th century and some of the coins bear the text “KANUTUS”, which means Knut in Latin – indicating they are from the time of Knut Eriksson’s reign as king of Sweden.

Three types of coins found in the treasure: KANUTUS coins, Gotland coins and bishop coins. Photo: Stockholm County Administrative Board

The treasure also contains some rare bishop coins, which were coins manufactured in Europe by bishops. These coins feature a bishop holding a crosier in his right hand. Lin Annerbäck, head of the Medieval Museum in Stockholm, describes the treasure as unique and believes it can tell us much about Sweden’s history.

It is completely unique, we have no other medieval treasures from Stockholm. And then it also appears to be extremely large. So it’s very exciting. she tells the Swedish newspaper DN.

The location where the treasure was found is currently being kept secret due to the risk of illegal treasure hunters. Archaeologists will further examine the site and the treasure as well as evaluate it.

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel suspended after Kirk monologue

Assassination of Charlie Kirk

Updated yesterday 21:20 Published 18 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Jimmy Kimmel together with Kamala Harris (D) in June 2024.
3 minute read

Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel has been suspended from US television network ABC after controversial statements about the murder of Charlie Kirk. The decision has sparked strong reactions in both American politics and the entertainment industry.

ABC has decided to pause the talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely. The background is a monologue where Kimmel questioned the White House’s official version of the motive behind the murder of right-wing profile Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel suggested that the perpetrator could be linked to the Trump movement, rather than the radical left, and accused the president’s allies of “scoring political points” from the murder.

The Maga Gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.

The comment sparked immediate backlash. Brendan Carr, head of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), threatened ABC with action and argued that Kimmel’s words undermine public trust.

Shortly thereafter, the network announced that the program would be suspended until further notice. Several major stations, including Nexstar Media, followed suit and stopped broadcasts nationally.

Jokes about Trump’s grief

Jimmy Kimmel also made ironic comments about Trump’s alleged grief after the murder. Kimmel began by showing a video clip from the weekend where a reporter first asks the president how he feels after the murder.

But between all the pointing, they’re also grieving… On a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.

After Trump responded to the reporter that he feels “very good”, he quickly shifts the conversation to talk about the construction start of the new ballroom at the White House and how beautiful it will be.

This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish, said Jimmy Kimmel.

Donald Trump: “Kimmel talentless”

Donald Trump expressed his approval of the decision on social media and called Kimmel “talentless” while commenting on the program’s “low ratings”. The White House then backed up Trump’s tone, claiming that television audiences benefited from the decision to stop Kimmel.

The announcement has simultaneously created a storm of criticism, not least from Democratic leaders.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argues that threats against media broadcasting licenses due to satire and opinion statements constitute a serious threat to freedom of speech. Schumer compared the action to methods reminiscent of authoritarian states.

That’s what Xi does. That’s what Putin does, said Schumer.

The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel has quickly become a symbol for many of the increased political polarization in America’s media landscape.

The question of what responsibility and freedom comedians and satirists have in polarized times continues to be debated, and critics warn that the suspension risks creating a barrier between those in power and free media.

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