Photo submitted by Finnish American Heritage Center A Midsummer pole on Quincy Green in Hancock. The community is invited to join the Midsummer celebration this Saturday at Quincy Green as well as a bonfire at Toivola’s Agate Beach.

HANCOCK, Mich. — The community is invited to join area Finns in a Midsummer (Juhannus) celebration on Saturday, June 24 at Quincy Green in Hancock, adjacent to the Finnish American Heritage Center. The Finlandia Foundation Copper Country Chapter will raise the annual Midsummer pole (Juhannus salko) at 12 p.m., during a ceremony that will include music by the Backroom Boys, and dancing led by the Kivajat Dancers.

Decorating of the pole will begin at 9:30 Saturday morning, when Chapter members will gather to dress the pole with locally harvested birch boughs, greens and other hand-crafted natural décor. In Finland, the tradition is kept in the Swedish-speaking coastal regions and in the Åland Islands, and was instituted locally nearly a decade ago. Michigan became the home of more Swedish-speaking Finns than any state in the union. Dollar Bay was a well-known enclave of Swedish-speaking Finns, as well as communities in Marquette, Gogebic and Delta counties. The Midsummer pole tradition has been kept in the community of Brevort since the late 1800s. The public is invited to take part in decorating and learn more about Midsummer/Juhannus traditions.

Another Juhannus tradition is to place two small birch trees on either side of the front door of homes.

A very important piece of Finnish Juhannus tradition is the Juhannus kokko (bonfire). This tradition has been kept at Toivola’s Agate Beach since the 1890s. Hosted by the Toivola Volunteer Fire Department, and others, the bonfire will be lit at 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 24. The event is free of charge and open to the public.

This summer’s celebration coincides with another significant milestone for Copper Country Finns. Earlier this month, California-based Finlandia Foundation National acquired ownership of the Finnish American Heritage Center’s assets and operations, ensuring that these vital pieces of Finnish-American history and contemporary culture will remain a part of the city that has embraced and championed Finnish-American and Finnish culture ever since the first Finnish immigrants arrived more than a century ago.

In Finland, the summer solstice is the premiere summer holiday when nearly everyone heads to the lakes and forests of Finland to enjoy the night-less days. In earlier times Juhannus (St. John the Baptist day) was a significant religious holiday, and in particular, a time of large church conventions. Over the years, many of these denomination conventions have moved closer to the Fourth of July period. For Finnish Americans of all stripes, Juhannus is a major time to celebrate Finnish-American history and culture, and the various groups hosting this year’s events invite everyone to partake.