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CHRISTMAS

Ten essential words that explain Christmas in Sweden

'Tis the season to be jolly and brush up on your Swedish vocabulary with a whole bunch of new words to describe the festive season.

Published: 16 December 2019 16:47 CET
Ten essential words that explain Christmas in Sweden
Learning a new language is almost as exciting as Christmas. Photo: Carolina Romare/imagebank.sweden.se

Jul

The festive season is well and truly upon us, so what better time to take a look at the Swedish word for Christmas? Click here to read more

Julklapp

Our early Christmas gift to you is this festive word: en julklapp means 'a Christmas present'. Click here to read more

Snapsvisa

With just a few days to go until Christmas, this Swedish word will help you navigate your next julbord or Christmas party. Click here to read more

Prinskorv

This is one of the key players in the julbord buffet. But what's so princely about these small savoury snacks, and where does the word come from in the first place? Click here to read more

Pumla

This is a festive Swedish word that might just spark a lively debate around the julbord. Click here to read more

Uppesittarkväll

Did you know that the Swedes have a special name for the night before the night before Christmas? Click here to read more

Jultomte

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Swedish-learners were wondering, 'where does the word jultomte come from, anyway?' Click here to read more

Annandag jul

On the second day of Christmas, The Local gave to you, the story behind the Swedish word for the second day of Christmas. Click here to read more

Mellandagar

You know those odd few days between Christmas and New Year when time seems to lose all meaning and your diet consists mainly of Christmas leftovers and chocolate? In Swedish, there's a word for them. Click here to read more

Glögg

It's fun to say, and more fun to drink. Click here to read more

We hope you enjoyed this collection of some of the Christmassy words from our Swedish Word of the Day series. To learn more phrases to help you survive the holidays, here's another handy article.

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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: nyckelpiga

These little red and black insects are starting to pop up in gardens and fields all across Sweden. But where does their name come from?

Published: 14 May 2024 09:18 CEST
Swedish word of the day: nyckelpiga

Nyckelpiga, or nyckelpigor in the plural, is the Swedish word for the red and black spotted insects known in English as ladybirds or ladybugs.

Their name is made up of two words in Swedish, nyckel, which is the word for key, and piga, meaning a maid or other female servant, so it could be literally translated as a “keymaiden”.

In many European languages, these insects have names which relate to the Virgin Mary. 

In English, legend has it that farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary asking her to protect their crops, and when ladybirds appeared to eat aphids (a common garden pest), they called them “Our Lady’s birds”, which over time was simplified to ladybirds.

They’re known as mariquita in Spanish and marieta in Catalan, while in Danish and Norwegian they’re called mariehøner or marihøner (literally: Mary hens), and in German they’re called Marienkäfer (Mary beetles).

The Swedish term has a less obvious relationship to the Virgin Mary, and dates back to Sweden’s Catholic past.

Mary is believed in Catholicism to have seven sorrows, which are all events in her life often depicted in art by seven swords piercing her heart. The most common ladybird in Sweden has seven spots, which were seen as representing these seven sorrows.

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Seven was also considered to be a holy number in general, and it was believed therefore that ladybirds held the keys to heaven on behalf of Mary. According to an old Swedish folk tale, anyone who releases a captured ladybird would be let through the gates of heaven, and in many countries they are believed to be able to reveal when someone will marry.

In Sweden, it was said that if one landed on your hand and walked along your fingers, it was measuring new gloves for you, which meant that you were either going to attend a wedding or a funeral, and in France, a woman could put a ladybird on her finger and count out loud until it flew away, with the number reached representing how many years would pass before she would marry.

Another word for ladybird in Swedish is gullhöna (yellow hen), which most likely refers to the less common yellow ladybirds with black spots.

These ladybirds were believed to be able to predict the weather in some parts of Sweden. In Bohuslän, ladybirds meant good weather, and if you saw one, you were supposed to say gullhöna, gullhöna, flyg, flyg, flyg, så blir det sommar och gott, gott väder (ladybird, ladybird, fly, fly, fly, then it will be summer and good, good weather). In Värmland, however, seeing a ladybird meant the opposite: bad weather and rain.

Example sentences:

Tycker du inte att det har varit ovanligt många nyckelpigor i år?

Don’t you think there has been an unusually large number of ladybirds this year?

Nyckelpigor är ett bra nyttodjur att ha i trädgården då de äter bladlöss.

Ladybirds are a good beneficial insect to have in the garden, as they eat aphids.

Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local’s Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local’s journalists, is available to order. Head to lysforlag.com/vvv to read more about it. It is also possible to buy your copy from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Bokus or Adlibris.

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