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Midsummer around the world (10p)
Lue teksti ja valitse oikea vaihtoehto kohdissa 1–8 ja suomenna tekstin tummennettu osa (kohta 9).
Midsummer, or summer solstice, as it is also called, celebrates the longest day of the year and it is considered to be the starting point of summer in the northern hemisphere. For us Finns, this usually means escaping to summer cottages, going to the sauna and enjoying nature through the night full of light. But did you know that midsummer is celebrated throughout the world?
In the United States, a well-known midsummer celebration is the day-long yoga on Times Square. Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts gather to practice this ancient relaxation technique. Serenity is also present in the U.K., where thousands of modern-day druids and other people gather at the famous World Heritage landmark, Stonehenge, to see the sun rise on summer solstice. The occasion is quiet and reserved, and the only form of alcohol that is accepted is the ceremonial mead.
The Canadians on the other hand have had the tradition of organizing a late-night baseball game for over a hundred years already. The Midnight Sun Game is said to have originated in 1906, when the purpose of the game was to convince the people to rebuild the town after the Fairbanks downtown had been destroyed by a fire.
Fire is present in several countries as part of the festivities. Bonfires are common both in Finland as well as the other Nordic countries. In Austria, it is customary to light fires along the mountains. In some countries, for example Latvia, it is also very popular to leap over burning bonfires. The Latvians also dress up men named ‘Janis’ with a crown made out of oak leaves.
Some celebrations are less tranquil. In Portugal, it is customary to carry flowering garlic plants and hit people on the head with them. This tradition supposedly stems from St. John, who was often hit on the head as a youngster so that he would steer away from troubles. There are also more controversial midsummer festivities. One that sparked quite a lot of outrage was the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in China. The festival was first organized in 2009. There have been efforts to ban the eating of dog meat, but so far they have been unsuccessful.
1 What is one of the ways of spending midsummer in the U.S.?
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2 What kind of an event is arranged at Stonehenge?
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3 What was the original aim of the Canadian baseball game?
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4 How is midsummer celebrated in Latvia?
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5 What peculiar tradition is related to midsummer in Portugal?
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6 Why was St. John supposedly often hit on the head?
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7 What has caused outrage related to the Chinese festivities?
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8 Has the Chinese festival gone through any major changes?
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9 Suomenna tekstin tummennettu osa: it is considered to be the starting point of summer in the northern hemisphere.
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