Au pairs enjoy Swedish holiday Twenty-five local au pairs and their host families from Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, Oak Park, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park gathered to celebrate the traditional Swedish holiday of Midsummer on July 26.

Swedish au pair Linnea Ekblad and her host family came up with the idea when meeting with Emily Davis, their child care coordinator, shortly after Ekblad arrived from Sweden.

Event organizer Craig Chiate and his sons spent many hours constructing a traditional Swedish Midsummer pole. Chiate said the construction was a fun project to share with his sons, ages 10, 7, 5 and 4. 

On the day of the event, three Swedish au pairs from the Conejo/Calabasas group— Ekblad, Annelie Bergmark and Ulrika Eden—gathered early to decorate the pole with leaves, vines and flowers. 

Families and guests added their own flowers as they arrived. Eden said this was the first time she’d ever seen hibiscus at Midsummer, a Hawaiian or Southern Californian touch.

Au pairs from other countries brought snacks, side dishes and desserts to supplement the barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs provided by the Chiates. 

The group dined on Italian bruschetta, German potato salad and cheese biscuits, French quiche lorraine, Swedish meatballs, potatoes and lox and a variety of desserts brought by au pairs from Czech Republic, Bosnia, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, China, Venezuela and Argentina.

After lunch, everyone gath

red at the Midsummer Pole while the Swedish au pairs explained the ancient festival, a

ime when people gather to cel

brate the summer solstice, cus

omarily on the longest day of the year when the sun never sets in Sweden. The holiday rivals Christmas as a favorite in Sweden. 

Host families, children and au pairs joined together to perform traditional Swedish dancing and singing around the Midsummer Pole. 

After the dancing, many swam in the tropically designed swimming pool or grabbed a cold water or juice. 

For information about the au pair program, e-mail Emily Davis at emily.davis@lcc .culturalcare.com.