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CHRISTMAS

Swedish word of the day: julgransplundring

The word 'julgransplundring' introduces you to one of Sweden's surprising winter traditions.

Swedish word of the day: julgransplundring
January 13th marks the end of the Swedish Christmas season. Image: nito103/Depositphotos

January 13th is officially the 20th and final day of Swedish Christmas. 

It's traditionally marked with the julgransplundring or 'Christmas Tree plundering', which marks the end of the festive season. Alternative names are julgransskakning (literally 'Christmas tree shaking) or Knutsfest (St Knut's Day). Read more about the history of the date in the article below:

The celebrations, which have remained mostly the same since the late 1800s, typically start with a last dance around the tree, perhaps with a song, before removing the decorations.

That means that if you've had the willpower to make them last this long, it's finally time to eat the chocolate decorations and candy canes from the tree, and to smash and eat any gingerbread houses.

There are usually a few games and songs, especially 1901 favourite Raska fötter springa tripp, tripp, tripp (quick footsteps running, tap tap tap) which is about the end of the holiday season.

Then, the tree is taken away.

In centuries gone by, Swedes would toss them straight out of the window onto the street, but it's important to note that this messy and not so environmentally-friendly technique isn't the done thing any more. Instead, you should take them to the designated area in your local authority. If in doubt, check with your landlord or the head of your tenant-owners association (BRF).

Didn't have your own tree this year, or have a fake one that just needs to be put into storage? There still might be a chance to join in with the song and dance at a public julgransplundring, for example at Stockholm's Nordic Museum which hosts them each year, or at the Christmas trees located in some town squares.

Do you have a favourite Swedish word you would like to nominate for our word of the day series? Get in touch by email or if you are a Member of The Local, log in to comment below.

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SWEDISH WORD OF THE DAY

Swedish word of the day: själv

Today's Swedish word can help you talk about independence, solitude... and swearwords.

Swedish word of the day: själv

The word själv means “self”, as in han gjorde det själv (he did it himself), jag tycker själv bäst om våren (I personally prefer spring), vad tycker du själv (what do you yourself think?) or as parents of Swedish-speaking two-year-olds will know too well, kan själv (“can self!” or “I can do it myself!”).

Själv can also mean “alone” – not necessarily implying that the speaker is feeling lonely – such as jag var hemma själv (“I was home alone”) or jag gick på bio själv (“I went to the cinema on my own”). If you’re feeling lonely, you should instead say jag känner mig ensam.

It appears in several compound words, such as självisk (selfish) or osjälvisk (unselfish/selfless), självbehärskad (restrained, or more literally in control of oneself) or självförtroende (confidence).

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A trickier word to explain is självaste.

Självaste can also mean him or herself, but think of it as a more extreme version, implying that the speaker has some sort of reaction to the person in question, perhaps they’re impressed or shocked. Other translations can be “in the flesh” or “none other than”.

For example: jag vände mig om och då stod självaste drottningen där (“I turned around and the Queen herself was standing there”) or de vann mot självaste Barcelona (“They won against none other than Barcelona”).

You also often hear it when Swedes swear. Det var då självaste fan (“It was the devil… in the flesh”) may be said by someone who is annoyed that something went wrong or isn’t working, although more often than not they’ll leave the last word unspoken: det var då självaste… (similarly to how an English-speaker may say “what the…” leaving out the cruder word “hell”).

Examples:

Själv är bästa dräng

If you want to get something done you’d best do it yourself

I själva verket

In actual fact (in fact, actually)

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 USAmazon UKBokus or Adlibris.

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