06/19/2026
Hyvää Juhannusta - Happy Midsummer
If you ask a Finnish person which date matters most in the year, most will say “Juhannus” before they finish the question.
Juhannus = Midsummer. The longest light. The one weekend where everything stops and everyone goes to the lake.
Juhannus is about “kokko”, the midsummer bonfire built tall and lit at the water’s edge as the sun refuses to set. It is about swimming in a lake that is finally warm enough. It is about the sauna, long and unhurried, with the people you love most. It is about sitting together with nowhere to go and nothing to explain. It is the one time of year Finns collectively agree that this, right here, is enough.
We are far from any Finnish lake today. But our saunas are warm, the birch is ready and the spirit of Juhannus travels well.
If you know what today is, happy Midsummer! If this is the first time you are hearing the word, now you know. You are welcome here too! 🌿