Sankt Hans' Evening - A Danish Midsummer Celebration

Sankt Hans' Evening is the Danish midsummer celebration that takes place around June 23rd every year.

In my family we start off around 7 p.m., with bread on a stick over bonfires for the kids, and then we move on to our potluck dinner. When it starts getting dark, we move out into the field where we light the bonfire and sing songs.

After the bonfire has burned own, we return to my aunt and uncles farm, where we finish of the night around midnight with eating strawberries (from their neighbors' farm), sugar and milk (from my uncle's cows)  

My uncle Kaj, is lighting the fire together with my cousins Sophie and Annabel, and my oldest son Roshane.

At the top of the bonfire is the witch, who is ready to fly off to Bloksbjerg (Block Mountain), a Danish tradition that stems back to the beginning of  the 20th century. It is a bid of a morbid tradition as it stems from the horrific witch hunts of the 17th century, yet it is a part of the tradition, and the kids love making the witch out of hay and old rags.

To me and my family Sankt Hans is about family and friends, and it is about being together with the people you love.

While I was growing up I always spent Sankt Hans evening with my parents, my brothers and my parent's close friends.

After returning to Denmark about three years ago, the tradition was changed a bit, as my parents continued to celebrate Sankt Hans with their friends, while my brothers and I celebrated the evening with our aunts, uncles and cousins. 

My cousins Sophie and Annabel were born in England, but they just moved to Denmark with their Danish mother and British father the day before Sankt Hans. This was their first Sankt Hans celebration, and as you can tell, they were enjoying every moment of it.

Every Sankt Hans we sing two versions of the same songs, one of the Danish national songs "Vi elsker Vort Land" (We Love our country), which was originally written in 1885 by Holger Drachman, a Danish poet.

In 1979, The Danish group Shu Bi Dua, rewrote the music for the song, and this version has become a household song at the Midsummer Parties as well.

This year my Sankt Hans Evening was extra special for many reasons. It was the first Sankt Hans party for my cousins Sophie and Annabel, for my youngest son Skyler Kai, and for my little niece Caroline.

This was also the last Sankt Hans Evening together with my Danish family for a long while, as we have moved back to the U.S. this Spring.