Midsummer's Day is one of the holidays in which the feeling of nature has been preserved in its most authentic form. Siirman believes.

"The traditions are strongly associated with nature, whether it be making a fire, being outside in the evening, haymaking, herding – seeking all of this. Nowadays, perhaps less, but at the same time, nature is in the transition process, when the hay has grown tall, there are beautiful flowers, the hay is waiting to be harvested, and the sowing season is over. From this viewpoint, Midsummer is one of the holidays where this old strong observance of the cycle of nature is visible," she told Klassikaraadio show "Delta".

However, there is also a Christian side to St John's Day (Jaanipäev), named after St John the Baptist.

"We can assume that it originates from the Catholic period, perhaps the name has survived from the Middle Ages, like many other holy days. At the same time, I would say that Christian customs have not taken root. Certainly, on Midsummer, they used to go to church, and they had a sort of community gathering with their family and visited the cemetery. It can be considered a Christian side of the holiday, but at the same time, during easter, you can feel a sort of Christian connection that you do not notice on Midsummer," the expert said.

There are also similarities between Scandinavian, German, and Eastern Slavic Midsummer traditions. "Such as a connection with nature, especially fire-making. It has certainly been such a broad holiday that it is celebrated in other parts of Europe, not only in Estonia."

According to Siirman, it is interesting to think how Midsummer's Day has established itself as such a significant holiday in Estonia. "It certainly has a strong connection with church holidays. Since ancient times it has been a kind of servants' feast day or Sunday, usually given to the servants as a day off. That must have reinforced it as well and is a sign that it's a very big holiday. When Victory Day was added to it, it also reinforced the celebration of Midsummer Day." 

Siirman said it is difficult to say how Estonian Midsummer customs have changed since there are no sources about the older times. Some knowledge exists from the Swedish times when people used to gather in an old chapel to celebrate the day with a party. "One element is definitely the big gathering and making a fire. It has remained until now and will probably remain so after us. It is such a big symbol," she said.

More specific traditions in Estonia are rather local. "South Estonia has had more Latvian influence while East Estonia has had Russian influence. They have definitely changed and today, we only know a fraction of them."

Some customs and trends have remained the same throughout time. "You can feel the joy of the white flowering blossoming season, gather around a fire, and stay up as long as you can, the memories of how to find the fern flower have been preserved throughout time, one can walk around the fire and chant to make it burn more brightly and better, and make wreaths." Siirman also added that different songs and games have accompanied the gathering of the fire, and swinging has a special place.

This year, the Estonian Open Air Museum's Midsummer program is called "Season of love".

"Midsummer Day is a day when joy and love take the foreground, whether it be the celebration of old love, the celebration of love for the homeland, or finding new love. Midsummer's traditions have a lot to do with how to find your companion for the rest of the year or life. This kind of unhappiness of young people, how to find a husband and wife, was also important and probably still is," Siirman told "Delta".

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