Christmas and New Year celebrations may well be over now, but if you are arranging removals to Sweden, you may want to think about how the festivities are marked over there. This article looks at some of the ways you would expect to see Christmas and New Year celebrated in Sweden.
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If you require removals to Sweden, in order to be well prepared for the festivities in 2013/14 here is our brief guide on what to expect at this time of year. As the Swedes say: ‘God Jul’, or Merry Christmas!
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Christmas in Sweden
The Christmas season starts on the first of the month when many people put advent stars or candles in their windows. Advent candles are popular in Sweden and one candle is lit a week to mark the countdown to Christmas.
A big day in Sweden in the run up to Christmas is the Festival of Lights or St Lucia Day (December 13th) when a child is chosen to lead a candle lit procession. Traditional songs or carols are sung and the child representing St Lucia carries saffron buns and ginger snaps.
The girl – or even sometimes a boy – chosen to be Lucia wears white with a red ribbon on their waist and a wreath of electric candles. The girls dress in white and the boys may dress up as star boys (all in white), Santas or gingerbread men.
Christmas Day is celebrated in much the same way as it is in England, except the main feast and opening of the presents take place on Christmas Eve. Another difference is that Santa traditionally comes knocking at the door instead of falling down the chimney. And instead of putting Xmas cake and brandy out for Santa, he gets a bowl of rice porridge with cinnamon or jam!
Just as in Britain, it is traditional to have a Christmas tree in Sweden. This can be decorated in any way you choose and instead of being taken down 12 days after Christmas, it usually stays up until about mid-January.
Christmas Dinner
Christmas dinner usually takes the form of a buffet with pickled herring, smoked salmon and gravlax (a dish of raw, cured fish). You can also expect to see cold meat at the buffet, Christmas ham, meatballs, stuffed cabbage, pork ribs, pork sausages, rye bread, and a baked layered potato dish with cream and onions, called Janssons Frestelse.
Popular sweet dishes on Christmas Eve include sweet pastries and ginger snap biscuits called Pepparkakor. This delicious feast would be washed down with some gorgeous hot mulled wine. And after the feast, usually someone dresses up as Tomte, which is a Christmas gnome!
New Year in Sweden
Whereas Christmas is very much a family occasion, Swedish people like to bring in the New Year with friends and often have parties at home.
They dress up and have a feast where they talk about the past year and what they expect in the future. They also discuss their New Year’s resolutions and this can be anything from taking up exercise, to travelling more, or cutting down on the booze! It is traditional at the feast to be served legumes and black eyed peas as this represents luck and prosperity.
The Swedes might round off the celebrations watching the New Year countdown on TV or fireworks from their window. Another tradition is to make a scarecrow to be burned at Midnight as this represents all the bad things that have happened in the past. Then they wish each other ‘Gott Nytt Ar’ which is Swedish for ‘Happy New Year!’
The Swedish Christmas and New Year holiday period usually lasts about a week when people visit friends or family, travel or enjoy a well-earned break.
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Moving Partnership specialise in removals to Sweden and provide competitive quotations for domestic and commercial moves from UK to Sweden, or removals to other European or international destinations. Most of the companies we partner with are FAIM accredited or BAR registered so you can be assured of the best possible service.
Removals to Sweden – click here for full information on our removals to Sweden service or contact us now for a free online moving quote.
