Juhannus is celebrated on the Saturday between the 20th and the 26th of June. It is the Feast of St. John the Baptist on the church calendar but we called it Juhannus and it brought every Finn, spouse, and friend, tick and mosquito, into Casper's Gulch for a picnic, homemade ice-cream, games and competitions, and my Grandpa Tuovinen auctioned off the fancy work for the Ladies Aid of the Cave Hills Lutheran Church.
Other folks came as well, and it surprised me that my hero, Frankie Clark, told me that he came as a kid with his parents from Buffalo. They were English Papists, but they must have enjoyed the congeniality, or maybe watching the Finns loosen up a little and have some fun. Anyway, he said they came every year; it made me happy to know that.
Later when I was in my 40's, my mother and I enjoyed the bonfires and dancing in Finland on Juhannus. The next day we arrived at our paternal Finnish relatives who had asked all of the clan over to see the American Cousins! After the greetings, meeting and feasting, Seppo took out his accordian and all the women danced together in the livingroom. I wanted to Polka with Seppo, but he was the music so that was out. The torte was so tall and so wonderful I have never forgotten it, and the old women dancing was a sight to behold.
When the women wore out their hips and knees, Seppo put the accordian down and took me for a motorboat ride.
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