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Swedish Akvavit and Drinking Songs Posted by on Jun 3, 2010 in Culture

This year, midsommarafton will be celebrated on June 25th and midsommardagen will be on the 26th.  Some people take the time to dance around the midsommarstång, others celebrate the long hours of daylight, still others sing.

That singing (and dancing for that matter) is often accompanied by a snaps.  A snaps is a shot of akvavit, a traditional alcohol found in the Scandinavian countries, which has become an ingrained part of Swedish culture.

For those who enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage, no midsommar celebration is complete without akvavit. In fact, akvavit has become such an ingrained part of Swedish society, that the term akvavit is protected by EU regulation.  Akvavit, which is usually a clear potato or grain based spirit, must be spiced with either cumin or dill and it must also have at least 37.5% alcohol content.

Drinking a snaps is all part of the traditional midsommar celebration.  And so is singing.  For all of you planning on celebrating midsommar this year, it’s time to start practicing your Swedish snapsvisor.  One of the most common songs is Helan går, a classic that tends to be sung at least once at every midsommar table. Without further ado, the text to Helan går (in Swedish of course):

Helan går,
sjung hopp falleri faderallan lej,
helan går,
sjung hopp faderallan lej
Och den som inte helan tar
han inte heller halvan får
Helan gåååååååår
sjung hopp faderallan lej.

Halvan går
sjung hopp falleri faderallan lej
halvan går
sjung hopp faderallan lej
Och den som inte halvan tar,
han heller inte tersen får,
Halvan gååååår,
sjung hopp faderallan lej.

You’ve got a few weeks left until you need to break out your best Swedish signing voice, good luck everyone!

Check out the following website for plenty of other snapsvisor for your Midsummer celebration.

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About the Author: Marcus Cederström

Marcus Cederström has been writing for the Transparent Swedish Blog since 2009. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Oregon, a Master's Degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a PhD in Scandinavian Studies and Folklore from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has taught Swedish for several years and still spells things wrong. So, if you see something, say something.


Comments:

  1. Blilitis:

    Hej!
    I read this several times:

    Helan går,
    sjung hopp faderallan lallan lej,
    helan går,
    sjung hopp faderallan lej.
    Och den som inte helan tar
    han heller inte halvan får.
    Helan gåååååååår
    (drick)
    sjung hopp faderallan lej.

  2. Margaret Aston:

    I will be in Sweden to celebrate midsummer with my husband and friends. We will be sailing in the Stockholm archipeligo on our boat BISCAYA if anyone sees us and wants to say hej, please come and speak to us, our boat is admired as she is a very old lady and I would welcome the opportunity to make new friends and try out my ‘Swinglish’ as we call it. Let me know if you speak to us if you found us on facebook. Thank you xx

  3. Marcus Cederström:

    Hope everyone enjoys their midsummer!