A Midsummer Night's Dream

New York's plaintiff cries for respite from the rain were answered just in time for the annual celebration of Midsummer, a solstice-timed festival with both pagan and Christian roots. Although the occasion has been marked in northern Europe for many centuries, its observance in the U.S. is somewhat recent, with the New York party, which is co-hosted by the Swedish consulate and the Parks Department, going back just over a dozen years. Tonight, roughly 4,000 Swedes, New Yorkers and other lovers of herring gathered in Battery Park to toast the coming of the longest day of the year. Through dance, song and processions up to a leaf-covered Midsummer pole, revelers carried on traditions that are time-honored in Sweden but mere curiosities here. As could be expected anytime this many natural blondes congregate in one place at one time, the partying continued well past the appointed end time, marching right on toward the shortest night of the year.

Photo by Jennifer Calais Smith