[DoctorEldritch]

Hello Legion Gamers!

Today is the 23rd of June, and we'll have the "shortest night" of the year. Celebrated in many countries and cultures, it has many names. To us, it would probably be most known as Kupala Night or Midsummer.

I imagine every country or culture has its own unique spin on it. In the case of my homeland, people enjoy jumping over a bonfire. Sort of like this:



Personally, I could never see the appeal, isn't it hot enough? But to each their own. Does the place where you live join in on the festivities with some bizarre activity like that?

Though I have to admit, while this is probably the biggest festival of the Summer, it is not my favorite one. I am all about food, so the festival I like most takes place in August, when it's time to celebrate the lamprey fish. Lampreys is a parasite species of eel-like fish with a mouth that looks like something out of a horror movie. They have some medicinal benefits (I am not sure but seems that in a similar way that leeches do), but can be quite harmful to the fish population.

So in times when their numbers increase (end of August), a festival happens to keep their population at bay. There, they are cooked in a variety of ways:



And they are delicious, even prized as a delicacy. So it is a nice day out for seafood-eating fun.

I am not sure if other places have something similar, but it is my highlight and the "last hurrah" of every summer. What's yours?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Oh, Kupala Night is actually known in Poland, but celebrating it sort of died off. It definitely is mentioned a lot in historical sources.

For Finns Midsummer is the biggest holiday of the year after Christmas, it's kinda funny how the two big festivities are almost exactly half a year apart. The traditions are similar to what you described, bonfires and grill food. I haven't heard of anyone jumping over the bonfire though. That sounds very risky and could lead to many patients at the ER next morning. I know though, that with warm weather the Midsummers bring some drowning cases, because of people drinking and going for a swim. It's sad.

So, if any alcohol enthusiasts are reading this, please only go to the water while sober, even if you consider yourself a good swimmer. Water can be unpredictable, and it can be one moment that leads to a tragedy.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Too bad that Kupala Night is not as popular in Poland now, in the country where my parents live the celebration is still very much alive. Those bonfires are just so tempting to jump over, everyone wants to do it.

Jumping over them can be dangerous, but there aren't actually that many ER accidents. That's been done for ages, so people have a lot of practice about how to do it safely. And I think that, symbolically, jumping over fire has something to do with warding off evil spirits, so maybe other places have this activity as well.

But there are, sadly, some alcohol-related accidents, you're right, it's important to drink responsibly. The sea is actually not deep enough for someone to drown, you need to walk a bit of a distance into it for it to become deep, but there are still coastguards positioned near the sea during the festivities to make sure nothing bad happens. It helps that this night does not really get dark, so any accidents can be spotted easier.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch it's good that people get trained in the safety of this activity.

I think, part of the problem in Finland is that there are thousands of lakes and a lot of beaches are unguarded. In more remote places there might not even be any witnesses. For example my island has one official beach, but there are plenty of other places with easy access to the water.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Not as much trained, it's more like, you watch your parents do it the same as they watched their parents doing it, and you start doing it at a young age, so... Traditions, amirite?

Ah, I can see how it would present a problem. With where my parents are, it is mostly one long shoreline to the sea. It is a bit easier, but still. And there are plenty of river beaches that are secluded, those can be dangerous that way, but the coastguard has a boat patrol on the river going back and forth. I imagine with sea islands and lakes, it is much harder to keep an eye on people.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Ah, I understand now, wisdom passed down through generations.

Finland has so many low population areas, it's just impossible to keep watch everywhere. At least generally the rural areas have low crime rate and the drunk local fauna usually poses more threat for themselves than others.

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch Most of our festivals seem to have died off, especially the traditional ones. We are not allowed to enjoy certain activities anymore.

Most of the venues closed down and we are restricted to having gatherings either at our homes or a small venue.

During the month of September, we had a Pagan Festival where everyone would gather and sell their handmade items and also a lot of stalls selling food and beverages. Bands were allowed to perform and at night we lit bonfires and shared stories and good times together.

These festivals were according to some religious groups not deemed worthy to continue and it all came to an end. Our government only acknowledge Christianity and all other religions and beliefs are deemed to be evil.

Also, crime got out of hand and the designated areas for festivals became dangerous. Lots of muggings and malicious damage to property happened.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Today on YLE there was a recap of the Midsummer weekend. There were 24 thousands calls to the emergency services, about the same number as the year before. So in that regard things did not get worse, at least.

Unfortunately, at least one case of drowning. Most calls were regarding people falling or getting ill, as well as vandalism and road accidents. At least three fatal road accidents. I am not surprised, Friday on the road was absolutely insane. Had way too many idiots honk at us, when we were already going slightly above the limit, just under the fineable amount. Then those idiots eventually would get bored and blast past us going at least 120kmph when the limit was 60. Normally, those happen maybe few times per year. But two days ago I counted at least 5 of those during my two hours on the road.

Did they all get the runs from the festival food and really rushed to the toilet or what?

[Saharr]

Sumidagawa festival it's a fireworks festival held in Tokyo on July

[Saka]

Today, I stumbled upon an article about quirky summer Festivals in Finland. Apparently there are annual Heavy Metal Knitting World Championships in Joensuu, unfortunately cancelled for this year. According to the Facebook page, they already are making plans on how to return in 2024.