#7 Midsummer and the Swedish sin

The most common birthday in Sweden is 22 March. Rewind the tape nine months and you’ll realise that these birthday celebrators were conceived around the time of Midsummer’s Eve. Link or coincidence? Well, this celebration of sunlight and summer is famed for its amorous undertones and is often portrayed as a night of sin and debauchery. After all, what is a Midsummer celebration without flirtation, phallic symbols, a healthy helping of hard liquor and pickled herring? Guests: Jonas Engman, ethnologist at the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, provides his expert view on Swedish traditions. Lena Lundkvist, population expert at Statistics Sweden. Knows everything there is to know about births, deaths and the life that goes on in between. Klara Arnberg is a doctor in economic history who specialises in Swedish sex life and sexual politics.