Simmer Dim - Midsummer in Shetland

2022年07月31日

シマー・ディムのシェトランドでの生活 - 太陽が地平線の下に沈み、日没が日の出に変わるまでの時間。ここシェトランド諸島の真夏の真夜中の様子をご覧ください。'Da simmer dim'は実際には '真夏' を意味するわけではありません。直訳すると「シェトランドの夏の夕暮れ」。これは、ダ・シマー・ディムが1日以上続くことを意味します。はるか北にあるため、太陽が再び昇る前に頭を地平線の下に沈めるだけなので、19 時間の昼光を見ることができます。さぁ一緒にこの幻想的な体験を垣間見てみましょう。(English) Life in Shetland at Simmer Dim - the time when the sun sets below the horizon and sunset turns into the sunrise. See what it's like midnight in midsummer here in the Shetland Islands. 'Da simmers dim' does not mean 'midsummer.' The literal translation is 'Shetland summer dusk.' It means that da simmer dim lasts for more than one day. Because it is so far north, it only sinks its head below the horizon before the sun rises again, so we see 19 hours of daylight. Let's feel this fantastic experience together.

Simmer Dim - Midsummer in Shetland

The summer light up here in Shetland is unique to these isles.

Beautiful, golden light.

Stretching out into the evening.

We call it the Simmer Dim.

They say that the sun barely dips below the horizon if you climb the highest hill in Shetland on a midsummer night.

It is time to explore Shetland in a different light.

To share that adventure with your friends.

Breathtaking views that stretch forever.

And the sound of nature everywhere.

There's no better place to spend an evening.

Having fun and spending quality time with the folk means the most to you.

The sun is settling down, right down at the horizon.

The sky comes completely alive with colour.

Completely alive.

What a time to be outdoors!

The clouds catch fire, and the world is transformed.

It's a different way of life here.

There is room to breathe.

When you're out in all that, you see all of this.

Time flies.

Here's to Shetland!

And the fine folk that lives here.

To the beautiful, quiet, calm, and of course, the friends that disturb it.

Here's to an island lifestyle and a life full of wonder.

So here's to friends, best friends, and a night that never ends.

Ref)
1)To the Norse settlers in Shetland, midsummer was about Baldur, the god of light and son of Odin and Frigg, celebrated as one of the best-loved gods of Asgard.
The celebrations marked his death and observed the height of the sun's power.
Today we still celebrate the sun's power, although thoughts of Baldur have mostly been forgotten as Christian traditions replaced the Norse influence.

2)The arrival of Christianity brought a whole new host of doctrines and religious observances to the isles, including Johnsmas on the 24 June.

J.R. Nicolson wrote that Johnsmas "contained much of the Old Norse practices of midsummer, although it had become Christianized by being dedicated to St John the Baptist."
On this night, bonfires would have blazed on hilltops as people celebrated the light and all it gave.

3)In Unst, folklorist Jessie Saxby describes the midsummer celebrations of the Simmermill Foy [party]:

"This festival was one of the most important and seems to have been what nowadays would be styled as a thanksgiving ceremony.
The folk gave thanks for small as well as great mercies.
'Never ye mind,' they would say if the fishing had been scanty, 'da Lord will send some other kind of blessing someday.'
Rogues of stones were piled, and on these were cast bones of fish and animals, peats, straw, seaweed, flowers, feathers, even a tet o' oo [tuft of wool]. To these would be added the ormals [broken remains] of any household article with pells [rags].
On top of all was a small wooden Kapp containing a little fish oil.
A glorious blaze would rise from that bonfire, and it burning to the foundation without any replenishment meant the best of all good luck."

4)Johnsmas also marked the beginning of the summer herring fishery, which saw hundreds of Dutch boats rendezvousing in Bressay Sound before the commencement of the summer fishery on 24 June.

William Aberdeen describes between eight or nine hundred Dutch vessels on his 1766 map - a staggering number for such a small community.
5)J.R. Nicolson, who wrote an indispensable guide to Shetland Folklore, also describes a delightful tradition of courting youngsters.
It says that a lad and lass would each pick a stalk of ribwort plantain, remove the tiny florets and wrap them in a dock leaf hidden under a stone.
This ritual was always done in secret, at sunset.
If the florets reappeared before the stocks withered, it was a sign that the couple would marry.

Simmer Dim - Midsummer in Shetland

Simmer Dim - Midsummer in Shetland

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