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CHRISTMAS

12 things you only get if you’ve celebrated Christmas in Sweden

Warning: Some of this may only make sense to you if you've ever celebrated Christmas in Sweden.

Published: 20 December 2016 13:53 CET
Updated: 25 December 2023 09:06 CET

12 things you only get if you've celebrated Christmas in Sweden

This is what Christmas in Sweden looked like in the 1970s and honestly, not much has changed. Photo: Jan Collsiöö/Scanpix

1. You would never call a Swede at 3pm on Christmas Eve.

Because Donald Duck.

2. You’ve tried eating the meatballs before the pickled herring.

And it made you the least popular person at the julbord.

3. Pickled herring in general.

Just saying.

4. You know which Julkalender is the best one.

Even though you’ve never actually seen it.

5. You would never say påskmust is the same as julmust.

You learned this the hard way.

6. You even have a favourite brand of julmust.

And it’s probably the one your Swedish partner has told you to like.

7. You have these in every window.

From the First Sunday of Advent to Tjugondag Knut.

8. You know what Tjugondag Knut is.

And struggle to explain it to non-Swedish friends.

9. You know the lyrics to Hej Tomtegubbar.

Because you were forced to learn this Christmas drinking song and now you can’t get it out of your head even if you sing Feliz Navidad ten times in a row.

10. You know that Jultomten eats rice porridge and not milk and cookies.

You also know the difference between the Jultomte (Santa Claus) and the Swedish tomte (a very short and angry man who looks after your house).

11. You are able to instantly fake joy the second you unwrap your Christmas presents.

Because in Sweden everyone opens their presents one by one as the rest of the family looks on (julklappsutdelning), so you don’t even have a chance to let your disappointment settle before you are put in the spotlight.

12. You know the answer to the question “Finns det några snälla barn…?”

You say yes, but think no.

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Why is Maundy Thursday a holiday in Denmark and Norway but not in Sweden?

Maundy Thursday marks the Last Supper, the day when Jesus was betrayed by his disciple Judas at a Passover meal, and depending on whether you’re speaking Swedish, Danish or Norwegian, It is known as skärtorsdagen, skærtorsdag, or skjærtorsdag.

Historically, it has also been called “Shere” or “Shere Thursday” in English with all four words “sheer”, meaning “clean” or “bright”.

In the Nordics, whether or not it is a public holiday not depends on where you are: workers in Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands get the day off, but those in Sweden and Finland don’t.

The difference goes back to Sweden’s split from Denmark with the breakup of the Kalmar Union in 1523, and then the different ways the two countries carried out the Reformation and the establishment of their respective Lutheran churches.

When Denmark’s King Christian III defeated his Roman Catholic rival in 1536, he imposed a far-reaching Reformation of the Church in Denmark, initially going much further in abolishing public holidays than anything that happened in Sweden.

“Denmark carried out a much more extensive reduction of public holidays in connection with the Reformation,” Göran Malmstedt, a history professor at Gothenburg University, told The Local. “In Denmark, the king decided in 1537 that only 16 of the many medieval public holidays would be preserved, while in Sweden almost twice as many public holidays were retained through the decision in the Church Order of 1571.”

It wasn’t until 200 years later, that Sweden’s Enlightenment monarch, Gustav III decided to follow Denmark’s austere approach, axing 20 public holidays, Maundy Thursday included, in the calendar reform known in Sweden as den stora helgdöden, or “the big public holiday slaughter”.

Other public holidays to get abolished included the third and fourth days of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, ten days celebrating Jesus’ apostles, and the three days leading up to Ascension Day.

“It was only when Gustav III decided in 1772 to abolish several of the old public holidays that the church year here came to resemble the Danish one,” Malmstedt said.

At the time Finland was simply a part of Sweden (albeit one with a lot of Finnish speakers). The other Nordic countries, on the other hand, were all part of the rival Denmark-Norway.

So if you live in the Nordics and are having to work on Maundy Thursday, now you know who to blame.

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