The grazing season - and the work season for shepherds - began after the "summer nights" in April, and continued until the "winter nights" in October. Jyri's Day is the traditional day for letting
the cattle out of the winter shelter in eastern and southern Finland. It was said that “Jyri carries the cattle on his back if needed”, which meant that cattle was allowed to come out of the dark
cowshed for a brief time even if there was snow and ice on the ground. The customs and traditions of Jyri’s Day ensured good luck for the cattle and house for the coming summer.

Letting the cattle out was a long-awaited and solemn event. The cattle were walked through the gate that was decorated and had protective symbols such as torches, rowan branches and iron
objects attached to it. An ax could be hidden under the barn's threshold. Livestock could be also protected with female spiritual power [more abot that in some other post]. The act of doing so
was called "harakoiminen". This was done by letting the cows and sheep walk pass the gate as a woman stood on top of the gate so that the animals walked between her legs. The animals
could also be protected by using objects such as bear claw and bear tooth, as well as a specific “incantation stone”.

Jyri's Day was held in silence, so that thunder would not damage crops or buildings in the summer and the livestock would be protected from predators. One was not allowed to work, ride a horse,
or make loud noises of any kind, including slamming doors. If the day passed quietly, summer would be calm as well. Cattle were also guided to their forest pastures in silence, so that the forest
would not become angry. On this day, people were not allowed even to cut a branch from a tree. If an animal died in the summer, the reason was that right customs had not been followed on Jyrki.

Guardian spirits of forest and cattle were given food offerings on Jyrki's Day, so that the cattle would be protected in the summer when it grazed in the forest pasture. In South Savonia, people ate
a meal and, before tasting anything, they placed part of every food to a special plate as an offering. Dishes such as pies, butter, milk, eggs and meat were taken to sacrificial trees in the hiisi,
a sacred grove. The dishes could be carried in a birch bark pack that was left to hang from a tree. People might also walk around the cattle while reciting spells and carrying a burning candle.
The candle was later burned in the hiisi. There were also individual sacrificial trees to which people left offerings, such as money, when walking past them with the cattle. The shepherds offered
a drink of liquor to each person they met while herding the cattle for the first time. This ensured good cattle luck for the summer.

Despite the silence associated with the day [particularly inside the house], it was also customary to "shout to the forest" to keep his beasts away during the grazing period. Around the Saimaa
area [in eastern Finland] the night before Jyri's Day was called the "shouting night". People walked in the forests at night and drove the wolves away with their shouts. For the same reason bonfires
were burned on hilltops, and shepherds played their horns. In some areas there was a particular custom called jyrynajo, "driving Jyri away", which consisted of children wearing cowbells and running
around the yard and nearby forests, making as much noise as possible.

Curiously, on Jyri's Day, as well as on jakoaika [division time] after Kekri, people were not supposed to give away anything from the house, no goods nor animals, in order to keep the house
prosperous. It was believed that whatever was given away on this day would not prosper in the coming year, but would decline instead. Consequently, if one had bought a cow, it was useless
to come and ask for it on Jyri's Day - giving the cow away would result in the death of all the house’s cattle. The same belief is known in Estonia, where not even fire to light one's pipe was given
to outsiders on this day.
(source)

In the Middle Ages when Christianity took over the pagan practices, the date was set as the 24th of June and the holiday was given the name juhannus, after John the Baptist (Johannes Kastaja in Finnish).
Many pagan practices still survived through the centuries, and some of them can be experienced today. Since 1955, juhannus has been celebrated on the Saturday that takes place between June 20 and
June 26, but many old people still remember June 24th as being the "real" Midsummer Eve (exactly six months apart from Christmas Eve at the 24th of December).

On Midsummer (Juhannus), the day is long and nature at its most beautiful. During this time the nature is going through a transition phase the same way as during midwinter. According to the ancient
worldview, the powers of nature are strongest during these kinds of transitions, and this is also when they can have the most powerful impact on people’s fate.

On Midsummer's Eve twigs and sprigs were brought to houses, barns, and other buildings. The plants were believed to be full of flourishing power. The walls of the rooms were decorated with rowan branches,
and, in northern Finland, flowering bird cherries. Flowers were also gathered and flower garlands placed on walls and windows. The floors were covered with heaps of fragrant aspen and rowan leaves. Children
were said to have had great time playing amidst the leaves with cats and dogs.

The decorative plants were collected in the evening and the actual decoration was done during the midsummer night. As the fertile twigs and sprigs were believed to have their own unique power, the decorations
were not unnecessarily torn or cut. Person doing so would face sorrow and grief in the future. In Uhtua, Karelia, the twigs were collected by hand and no iron cutting tools were allowed.

There has been a custom in the whole country to decorate the outside entrance of doorways with young birches. In western and northern Finland people also built birch "huts" or orchards to the yard. In Central
and Northern Ostrobothnia, a tall spruce, ‘juhannuskuusi’, was erected on the yard. The tree was pruned so that only the top and few branches in the middle of the trunk were left. The tree was left standing on
the yard until the autumn, or even ‘till next midsummer. The customary thing to do in Kainuu was to chop the tree to firewood on Kekri morning.



Sauna with juhannus birches

Cattle and shepherds got their share of symbolic decorations. In South Savonia and Tavastia reeds were weaved into a decoration called ‘liuhta’ that was attached to the cow's horns. The decoration covered
the animal's eyes, and it was said that if the cattle could travel home on midsummer with their eyes covered, they would do so on other occasions, and would not fall under the forest spirit's spells. The
cattle decorations, as well as the other twigs and sprigs, were carefully stored away after midsummer. They were used to feed the cows after calving or on other special occasions during the winter, such
as Joulu [Christmas].

On Midsummer Eve people went to sauna with their own brand new whisk. This whisk was used only once. In Kankaanpää, it was prepared from juniper, alder, birch and aspen twigs. Seven branches from
each tree were used make the whisk, and using it was said to bring good health. After sauna, whisks were thrown to the sauna's roof and predictions were made based on their landing positions, similarly
to what was done on Helluntai [Pentecost].

Midsummer bonfires have been burned traditionally in eastern and northern Finland. In western parts of the country the fires were burned during the spring feasts such as Helluntai, Hela and Pääsiäinen [Easter].
Burning the bonfires was a big festival with singing and dancing. Each village had a dedicated bonfire place, such as hill, island or beach. Villages could start building their midsummer bonfires weeks before
the feast and the whole village took part in the construction. Tar barrels, among other things, were placed in the fire.

Both the young and the old gathered around to fire to dance and celebrate. Lighting up the fire was a special honor given to a particular village elder. The fire could be kindled using traditional methods such
as friction-based fire-making. People sang and danced around the fire, and men could fire their guns in the air to celebrate the moment. The fate of the bonfire's supporting wood pole was said to symbolize
the marriage luck of the village's girls. If the tree was only half burned and stayed up, not everybody would not get married. If it burned and fell, there would be weddings in the future.

The midsummer night was a special time for observing omens about cattle, harvest and marriage luck. Young girls, in particular, performed various love-related spells during the night. After leaving
from the bonfire party, a girl might roll naked in the rye field of his favorite boy's family. When the boy ate bread made from the rye, he fell in love with the girl.

Girl could also put particular things under her pillow in order to see her future life partner in a dream. For example, if a girl put an unbound whisk under her pillow, her future spouse would visit her in
a dream and bind the whisk. Other ways to see one's future partner included going out on midnight and walking three times around a sauna, a spring flowing to the north, or other special place.

Maidens could also visit female tietäjä [sage] to increase their marriage luck. The tietäjä strengthened the girl’s sexual charm or marriage luck ('lempi') in a sauna ceremony which included reciting
certain spells in sauna, pouring water and whisking with various floral and sprig whisks.

Midsummer’s dew was believed to be especially powerful and it was gathered before sunrise. Dew was said to heal diseases, including eye diseases and ear pain, and promote fertility. Dew also
enhanced beauty. If a girl washed her face with dew before sunrise, she would not get tanned during the whole summer.

The soil is at its most fertile on midsummer nights. Hence, one could take some of the abundance on the neighbor's field and move it to one's own barren fields. This was done by taking part of the
growth on the neighbor's field, for example, three ears of grains, and carrying them to one's own field. This meant that the luck and success of the field followed. One could also use a piece of cloth
to gather dew from the neighbor's fields and squeeze it to one's own field.

In Savonia and Karelia it was a customary thing to prepare porridge on Midsummer Eve, and visit fallow field were the whole family ate the dish while sitting on a wooden farrow. Before people ate
anything, milk from each of their cows and a spoonful of porridge were given to the stone in the field [cup stones, see this post. This ensured good cattle luck for the whole year and good harvest for
the field. It was said that even during later days old people did not dare to go see the bonfire before the meal had been eaten and sacrifices given, otherwise their cattle luck would be ruined.

Future fate could be predicted on the midsummer night with many ways. One interesting way was to tie three ribbons to three rye straws. One ribbon was red, one white and one black. On the morning
after midsummer night, just before sunrise, people went to see which straw had grown the most. If it was the red, there would be lots of joy and good harvest, and if white, things would be normal. If the
straw with the black ribbon had grown the most, there would be sadness and bad harvest.

Traditional midsummer foods are made from milk. Different kinds of cheeses, for instance, were made in different regions. In Central Ostrobothnia people prepared local specialty, reddish midsummer
cheese. During the midsummer night young men would go from house to house giving twigs and branches. In return, they got to taste the cheese prepared by the house's daughter. As making the cheese
requires a lot of patience and diligence, it could also give a hint about the girl’s temperament as a potential future spouse.

The Finnish summer usually arrives late and leaves early, yet for those fleeting days (or moments) it woos you as passionately as a new lover. And let’s face it, living in a country that for months on end
makes Tolkien’s Mordor of Lord of the Rings fame seem like a tempting holiday destination, you deserve to be wooed.

There could be a blizzard and the sun might not have been seen for months, but you’ll still find the entire Finnish nation encamped in the forest with bonfires and beers.

Today is Midsummer's Eve, and tomorrow the "Old Juhannus", 24th June. The night between 24th and 25th has traditionally been called taikayö, "magic night", and it's one of the best times of the year to make magic as nature's powers are at their strongest.

Personally, I would say that Nature would not give a fig about our calendar conventions and that the day of the actual summer solstice would be superior to any tradition feast day for the purpose of performing magic.

In the pagan times - possibly already in the ancient past of the Iron Age, when the stories of Kalevala first began to take form - our ancestors celebrated the supreme god Ukko at the time of the summer solstice, in order to ensure fertility and good harvest, because Ukko controlled the rains and weather. As the sun never set, it's also possible that the celebrations were connected to sun worship. Food and drink was sacrificed to Ukko and consumed in large quantities; the more you drank (especially if you were the master of a house), the better the coming harvest. Alcohol was offered to those in the afterlife by dipping three fingers of the left hand and then sprinkling it behind your back over your left shoulder. People could pray for rain by wading into water and throwing water into the air. Originally this was called vakkajuhla or Ukon juhla, "Ukko's celebration." In the Middle Ages when Christianity took over the pagan practices, the date was set as the 24th of June and the holiday was given the name juhannus, after John the Baptist (Johannes Kastaja in Finnish).

Giants disappearing into the North...sort of like Tolkien's Trolls!