Juhan­nus – Mid­sum­mer in Fin­land

While many peo­ple are famil­iar with the long, dark win­ters of North­ern Fin­land, have you ever thought about the oth­er extreme? In Oulu, the sum­mer brings incred­i­bly long, bright days – and none is more icon­ic than juhan­nus, the Mid­sum­mer cel­e­bra­tion.

Known as juhan­nus in Finnish and Mid­sum­mer in Eng­lish, this beloved hol­i­day is rich with tra­di­tion – from peace­ful moments at the cot­tage to roar­ing bon­fires by the beach.

It’s typ­i­cal­ly cel­e­brat­ed on the Fri­day and Sat­ur­day clos­est to June 24, which doesn’t always align with the sum­mer sol­stice (the offi­cial longest day of the year). While inspired by the sol­stice and the cel­e­bra­tion of light, juhan­nus is sched­uled for con­ve­nience, allow­ing many work­places to give employ­ees the Fri­day off so every­one can enjoy Midsummer’s Eve (juhan­nusaat­to).

In fact, for many Finns, Mid­sum­mer is even more cher­ished than Christ­mas as it cel­e­brates light, nature, and togeth­er­ness

To The Sum­mer Cot­tage

While some coun­tries cel­e­brate many events with crowd­ed city fes­ti­vals, juhan­nus in Fin­land is tra­di­tion­al­ly some­thing quite dif­fer­ent. Most Finns head to their sum­mer cot­tages (called mök­ki in Finnish), where the cel­e­bra­tions are more peace­ful and nature-focused.

Grilling late into the night, enjoy­ing a sauna fol­lowed by a dip in a near­by lake, or sim­ply doing noth­ing at all – it’s all part of the charm. What­ev­er the activ­i­ty, it usu­al­ly takes place out­doors, soak­ing up the end­less day­light and watch­ing the sky stay bright well into the night. There­fore, cities often find that their streets are qui­eter than usu­al, as peo­ple trade urban life for the calm of the coun­try­side.

Light It Up

Not only is the sky lit up with end­less sun­light, but anoth­er cher­ished juhan­nus tra­di­tion is light­ing a bon­fire. These fires, often built near lakes or the sea, are a sym­bol of warmth and togeth­er­ness – but they must be lit respon­si­bly, with care­ful atten­tion to weath­er con­di­tions and envi­ron­men­tal safe­ty.

In Oulu, one of the most well-known bon­fires is held at Nal­likari Beach, which has become a pop­u­lar gath­er­ing spot for those who stay in the city dur­ing the hol­i­day.

Nature and Folk­lore

Juhan­nus is steeped in old Finnish folk tra­di­tions, many of which are con­nect­ed to nature and love. One of the most charm­ing cus­toms involves pick­ing sev­en (or nine) dif­fer­ent wild­flow­ers and plac­ing them under your pil­low on Midsummer’s Eve. Accord­ing to folk­lore, this will make you dream of your future spouse.

Oth­er tra­di­tion­al beliefs include rolling in dewy grass at dawn for health and beau­ty and observ­ing reflec­tions in water or mir­rors to catch a glimpse of a future part­ner. While many of these are no longer wide­ly prac­ticed, they remain a beloved part of Finnish cul­tur­al mem­o­ry, espe­cial­ly among young peo­ple and in rur­al areas.

Flag Day: A Unique Hon­or for Juhan­nus

Juhan­nus is one of the few occa­sions in Fin­land when the nation­al flag is flown overnight. Nor­mal­ly, the Finnish flag is raised in the morn­ing and low­ered in the evening, but on Mid­sum­mer, it’s treat­ed as an offi­cial Flag Day. The day often goes like this:

• The flag is raised at 6:00 PM on Mid­sum­mer Eve (juhan­nusaat­to).
• It remains fly­ing through the night, sym­bol­is­ing the mid­night sun and nation­al pride.
• It is then low­ered at 9:00 PM on Mid­sum­mer Day (juhan­nus­päivä).

This tra­di­tion reflects the impor­tance of juhan­nus in Finnish cul­ture — not just as a sea­son­al cel­e­bra­tion, but as a moment of nation­al uni­ty and joy.

Events for 2025 in Oulu

Even though many ven­ture to their sum­mer cot­tage, there are still some events hap­pen­ing around the city. Take a look at the links below to find out more:

Some of the links or event descrip­tions are in Finnish due to web­site lan­guage avail­abil­i­ty, uti­lize web brows­er trans­la­tion with Finnish links!

• City of Oulu: Mid­sum­mer Events in Oulu | City of Oulu
• Nal­likari Bon­fire: Per­in­teinen Juhan­nuskokko | Face­book

Whether you’re light­ing a bon­fire, relax­ing at a cot­tage, or sim­ply enjoy­ing the end­less day­light, juhan­nus is a time to slow down and con­nect with nature, tra­di­tion, and each oth­er. How­ev­er you choose to cel­e­brate, may your Mid­sum­mer be peace­ful, bright, and full of joy.

Hyvää juhan­nus­ta!