How we celebrate Christmas in Sweden

In Sweden, unlike most other Countries, the main part of Christmas is not celebrated on December 25th, but on December 24th, Christmas Eve (in Swedish "Julafton"). But let's take it from the beginning:

For most people, the preparations for Christmas begin at late November or early December. That's when you start jerking around trying to find appropriate Christmas presents for everybody, so that you can have some peace and quiet the last days before Christmas. But nevertheless, there always turn out to remain one or two unbought gifts way past the "deadline".

The first of the four Advent Sundays (the four Sundays just before Christmas) is the day of the year when the most Swedish people go to church. The average Swede doesn't go to church very often, but everybody seem to like the hymns that are sung then (i.e. they recognize them). Many people have an "Advent candlestick" with four candles. On the first Advent Sunday you light the first candle, on the second Sunday you light the first and the second, and so on, which means that on Christmas Eve/Day the candles look like a flight of stairs.

Almost every family have their own Christmas-tree inside the house. It usually is a spruce. A few days before Christmas (or on Christmas Eve if you want to) you take it inside, put it in a Christmas-tree stand, and decorate it with whatever you want. Usually it includes some illumination, and a star (or something else) at the top. Many people fill the decorations with sweets or cookies which they eat at the day when the Christmas-tree is stripped of decorations (in Swedish "Julgransplundring", roughly translated it means "Christmas-tree Plundering"). Usually that day falls in mid-January, but in families with children often earlier, because the kids are so anxious to eat the sweets.

Christmas Eve you usually spend with your friends and/or relatives and eat Christmas food. Three o'clock in the afternoon is sacred, though. Then every kid in the whole country sits down in front of the TV to watch "Donald Duck and his friends wish you all a Merry Christmas". Adults also watch it, pretending they're just doing it for the kids, but in fact they like it as much as the kids do, they just don't have the guts to admit it.

Then at some point after Donald Duck, all Christmas presents are handed out. Actually there are two different traditions about where to put the presents. They can be put under the Christmas-tree OR in a sack which Santa Claus (in Swedish "Jultomten") carries on his back.

KIDS UNDER SEVEN! STOP READING HERE!

I SAID STOP!

Okay, but you might be disappointed to read this: In some families its a FAKE Santa Claus who comes to visit! Yes, it's the truth! But that's just because Santa doesn't have time do deliver presents to kids all over the world on one single day (on the other hand he's free on the other 364 days of the year). So, if you catch your grandfather or uncle or dad or neighbor, or whoever it might be, dressed as Santa, remember that he is only doing the real Santa a favour!

Often you stay up until late on Christmas Eve, which is not a very good idea, if you are going to the early Church Mass on Christmas Day, called "Julottan". It's heald every year and usually begins at 7 am - give or take an hour. Then the priest reads the Christmas Gospel and everybody sings Christmas hymns.

The days after Christmas, most kids go through a deep depression because Christmas is over - especially if their present weren't funny enough. A good rule is that they should last at least one week - then it's New Year's eve, with new celebrations!

< Back to Main page