Scandinavian Spotlight- A Swedish midsummer tradit

Last week was San JuanPeel, and not everyone knows this was a Christian celebration to honour the birth of Saint John the Baptist from the start. The traditions around this festivity are many depending on where in Europe you are. In Catalonia and Baleares, during a normal year people dress in white and go to the beach to do a lovely barbeque picnic with friends and family. It is the only time of the year you are allowed to make a bonfire on the beach.

Some of the traditions in Mallorca are that you write down 3 wishes on a piece of paper and throw the paper in the bonfire for good luck. The test of San Juan is another where you jump over the bonfire three times for good luck in the coming year. People also walk out in the sea backwards after midnight for good luck and good health in the coming yearThe provision of more doses o.

In 1998 I was sent to Mallorca to do a full summer season as a Service manager for a Scandinavian tour operator in Playa de Muro. I came directly from Thailand where I had done a full season of roundtrips with very demanding groups. I knew all about the history and culture of Thailand and the neighbour countries as I was supposed to. The placement to Mallorca came late and was very disappointing. I spoke a decent Greek after a couple of seasons there and I was really looking forward to going back to Crete where I had been the summer before. As for Mallorca I had only been in Magalluf as a 14-year-old. I had no clue about the traditions and festivities on the island. This was even before everyone had access to internet, so the head office sent out a welcome pack with a guidebook, the book “A Winter in Mallorca” by George Sand and the guide manuals for Mallorca mentioned 3 excursions I had to learn, “Market to Sineu”, “Cuevas del Drach” and the “Big Island tour”.

To me the culture shock was huge after living in friendly Greece and Thailand. Me and my colleagues were so into the day-to-day work that we totally missed San Juan that summer. HoweverThe province rose steadily over this period., the morning after as I opened the service office, I had several clients complaining that the beach was really dirty, like someone had done a party. I went together with them to the beach and found all the bottles, rubbish, and debris from the bonfire the evening before. I remember I got upset about the destruction, but the Ayuntamiento was already there to clear the beach with tractors and extra cleaning staff. Stillin some ways, this was 1998 and I remember thinking that Mallorca was like a third world country that did not even recycle bottles or cans then.