People leave cities and towns for summer cottages to celebrate the longest day of the year.
Bonfires are lit and lakeside merrymakers swim and row boats.
Enthusiastic alcohol consumption is also a feature of midsummer partying. The Pori Jazz Festival in July is one of the country's most popular festivals, but the Savonlinna Opera Festival , held at medieval Olavinnlinna Castle, is the most famous. For rock, there are big festivals during the Midsummer weekend, and big annual events, such as Ruisrock , the longest-running of rock festivals, at Turku in July. On the lighter side, check out the Sleepyhead Day , where on 27 July the laziest person in the towns of Naantali and Hanko is thrown into the sea. You have a legal right to walk, cycle, paddle a canoe or even camp almost anywhere in Finland.