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.