NEW SWEDEN — When the snows of winter have left and the crops are planted, it’s time to stop a bit and enjoy the fragrance of summer.

Midsommar, the Swedish summer festival, will allow you to do that this weekend in New Sweden. Held around the summer solstice on June 21, when the sun never sets in parts of Sweden, the cultural observance honors nature at its best.

This year’s festival will be on Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20, at various historical sites around the town.

With a population of fewer than 1,000, New Sweden was settled in 1870 by about 50 settlers hand-picked by Maine’s then-commissioner of immigration, W. W. Thomas Jr. As the community grew, the populations spilled over into the villages now known as Stockholm and Westmanland.

The two-day festival, with its music, flowers and food, attracts hundreds of visitors to enjoy the simple pleasures of the Swedish tradition.

It’s not entirely clear how the festival received the name Midsommar, or Midsummer in English, since the festival is celebrated near the first official day of summer.

Obviously, being held closest to the day with the most amount of daylight is significant, according to Paul Carlson, a New Sweden Midsommar participant.

Another reason for the name may be based upon how the agriculturist interpreted the seasons, said Dan Olson, a Swedish translator in New York City with New Sweden ties. Mid-June is the halfway point between when the snows melted and when they come again, Olson said.

A quick call to the Swedish Embassy on the question resulted in a puzzled response.

“I really don’t know,” replied a member of the embassy’s cultural affairs office.

The celebration of the festival in Sweden and in New Sweden mirror each other. Both include the decorating of the Majstang, a cross-shaped pole with two rings suspended from the crosspiece. The pole also is called the Midsommar Pole.

Traditional foods, such as pickled herring, potatoes and turnips, also are served during public suppers.

In Sweden, the weekend closest to Midsommar Day, June 24, is when the European Swedes have their festival. There is dancing to Swedish music around the Midsommar pole and games for the children.

New Sweden’s version of the festival has been organized this year by a committee headed by Kristine Bondeson of Woodland. With a Norwegian mother and a Swedish husband, she naturally was interested in keeping the Midsommar tradition alive.

“It’s a strong tradition that people understand the hard work and determination of what it took to build this community,” Bondeson said recently.

That the tradition has continued since the town’s settling is “quite remarkable,” she said.

One of the highlights during the festival is watching young children, dressed in the bright yellow, red and blue traditional costumes, dance the Swedish waltzes and folk dances.

“I love seeing the kids participate,” said Bondeson, who starts practicing with the children in March.

“I love seeing the kids in their costumes. They’re so proud of themselves and they should be,” she said.

Planning for Midsommar starts in January and the details of a successful festival are many, according to Bondeson. Hundreds of flowers that will be used to decorate the Midsommar pole will be gathered on the preceding Friday. Between 15 and 20 5-gallon buckets must be filled, she explained.

Knowing where the flowers can be picked with the landowners’ permission also is an aspect integral to the process.

“You just don’t go anywhere [to pick],” Bondeson said.

A few years ago, the field beside the town’s post office was cleared, taking with it a bounty of buttercups and lupines for Midsommar.

“There was a collective gasp when that was cleared,” Bondeson said with a chuckle.

Most of the festival’s activities will be held at or near the New Sweden Historical Society Museum, which will be open for tours during the summer celebration. Other activities include a Swedish dance, suppers, an afternoon program and blacksmithing demonstrations.

In getting involved with the New Sweden celebration, Bondeson, who grew up in Washburn, brought new ways to honor the flowers and light that surround the observance.

Several years ago, she began demonstrating how to make hair wreaths with flowers and florist wire. When the Midsommar pole was finished, all the young girls and women have crowns to wear as the dancing begins.

Bondeson had seen how the hair wreaths were fashioned in Norway during a three-year stay in her mother’s native country, and thought the activity would add to the Midsommar festival.

Another new activity is a traditional Swedish bonfire held on Saturday night.

Other than purchasing light refreshments or attending a Saturday night smorgasbord or Swedish meatball supper, every event is free.

“It’s still a small town festival,” Bondeson said. “It’s not very commercial.”

Following is a list of the highlights of the festival.

Saturday, June 19

10 a.m. Museum opens

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Making hair wreaths; flowers and wire provided.

1 p.m. Decorate Midsommar pole.

9 a.m.to 4 p.m. blacksmithing demonstrations

3 p.m. Capitol Hill run-walk race

5 p.m. Maine Swedish Colony Community Supper, Gustaf Adolph Lutheran Church. No reservations required.

5:30 p.m. Covenant Church Smorgasbord at New Sweden School on West Road. $10 each. Reservations required from Judy Holmquist at 498-3525.

7:30 p.m. Swedish dance at the New Sweden School, West Road. Donations accepted.

9:30 p.m. Bonfire at Thomas Park on Station Road.

Sunday, June 20

10 a.m. Ecumenical worship service at Thomas Park.

11:15 a.m. Lunch available at Thomas Park.

1 p.m. Midsommar program at Thomas Park.