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CHRISTMAS

Advent Calendar 2022: How Sweden adopted a German Christmas tradition

You've definitely seen them on windowsills this winter, but what is the history behind Sweden's advent candlesticks? We find out in today's Advent calendar.

Advent Calendar 2022: How Sweden adopted a German Christmas tradition
From four simple candles to a 3-metre behemoth, adventsljusstakar light up Sweden at Christmas. Photo: Gorm Kallestad/NTB scanpix/TT

Swedes may not have invented the concept of the Advent light, but they have spent more than a century adapting and reinventing it, making the Swedish version, known as adventsljusstakar (Advent candelabra), a distinctively Swedish Christmas tradition.

The earliest Advent light tradition, which consisted of lighting candles placed within a wreath of evergreen branches to count down the days until the feast of Christmas, originated in Lutheran Germany, possibly as early as the 1500s. 

In 1839, the first modern German Advent wreath consisted of 20 small red candles, which were lit on weekdays, and four large white candles lit each Sunday of Advent. Though this was eventually simplified to just the four white candles, the tradition first came to Sweden as an adaptation of the more elaborate format.

After spending a year studying nursing in Germany, Marie Cederschiöld returned to Sweden in 1851 to take her place as the first director of Stockholm’s Diakonissanstalten (Christian Welfare Institute; now called Ersta Diakoni) in Stockholm. Along with a tremendous compassion for others, she brought with her the Advent and Christmas traditions she had experienced in Germany.

By the 1870s, children at the organization’s church were lighting the candles of Sweden’s earliest distinctive Advent light. Inspired by but departing from the German tradition, 28 candles were set in an evergreen tree. On the first Advent Sunday, seven of the candles were lit, followed by seven more each successive Sunday until all the candles were lit.

Four Advent candles, one lit every Sunday of Advent. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

Over time, the candles were placed in a candelabra instead of a tree, and the number of candles was eventually reduced from 28 to four. The simple four-candle adventsljusstake remained the standard for Advent in Sweden until 1934, when a Swede named Oskar Andersson invented the first electric adventsljusstake.

Instead of modelling his light on the four-candle version, Andersson instead adapted the original Swedish tradition and created a candelabra with seven lights. Although most electric adventsljusstakar still feature seven lights, some feature the traditional four, while others have a seemingly random number like five or nine.

Taking things quite a few steps further, in 1997, Swedish designers Marie Lundgren-Carlgren and Kina Strandberg launched the upscale Elflugan with 19 lights. In the first year alone, more than 10,000 were sold, quickly embedding this thoroughly modern interpretation of the Advent candelabra into the celebration of Christmas in Sweden.

Today, Elflugan is notable as one of the most expensive adventsljusstake on the market, as well as one of the largest. In Jönköping County, two fully-functioning ‘Elflugan XL’ lights, measuring almost 2.9 metres tall and weighing 150 kilos, are permanently located in public places where they count down to Christmas year-round.

Elflugan designers Marie Lundgren-Carlgren and Kina Strandberg. Photo: Leif R Jansson/TT

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SWEDISH TRADITIONS

EXPLAINED: The history (and controversy) behind Sweden’s national folk costume

The Swedish national folk costume worn by Queen Silvia on National Day has gained popularity over the past few decades. The blue and yellow dress, however, has a peculiar - and controversial - history.

EXPLAINED: The history (and controversy) behind Sweden's national folk costume

The Swedish national folk costume (Sverigedräkten) has seen a resurgence in popularity over the past few decades.

You can see it often – during festive occasions, in popular culture (such as movies depicting Sweden), and on teachers who wear it for graduations.

Furthermore, Sweden’s Queen Silvia dons the national folk costume (virtually) every year on National Day, often in the company of other royal family members who do the same, such as Crown Princess Victoria, Princess Madeleine, and Princess Estelle.

Judging by the frequently positive (international media) attention this attracts, one would think that the national costume’s roots are well-grounded in history and tradition.

However, the reality is that the Swedish national costume is neither ancient nor traditionally Swedish.

Its roots trace back to the early 20th century, to a time when nationalism was booming.

The work of a controversial designer

The costume was designed by Märta Jörgensen, a designer who drew inspiration from local Sörmland (an area on the southeastern coast of Sweden) costumes to create a practical, everyday dress for Swedish women.

Her goal was to foster a sense of national pride and provide an alternative to the restrictive, expensive, and hard-to-clean European fashion of the time.

Jörgensen’s nationalist enthusiasm extended beyond fashion; she was active in a fascist movement called Swedish Opposition (Svensk Opposition) that later evolved into the far-right New Swedish Movement (Nysvenska rörelsen).

The costume experienced a revival during the 1970s’ “green wave,” a period marked by a restored interest in folk culture and craftsmanship in Sweden.

In the late 1970s, the Nordic Museum reintroduced the dress at an exhibition, sparking new interest once again.

Yet, it wasn’t until Queen Silvia wore it in the early 1980s, coinciding with the official designation of June 6th as Sweden’s National Day, that the costume truly gained traction and prominence.

The question of why Sweden celebrates its National Day on June 6th is harder to answer than you might think. The Local has a detailed explainer that delves into the question.

Today, the costume such a mainstay of popular culture that you’ll often see young people wearing it on social media.

What do experts think?

Despite its royal endorsement, the costume remains contentious among experts.

Ulla Centergran, an ethnologist and researcher, told the newspaper Aftonbladet in 2022 that the costume lacked traditional roots and was created from flag fabric, which some find trivial compared to Sweden’s rich collection of over 600 village costumes.

However, Centergran made a positive comment about the royal family’s choice to wear the costume on National Day, describing the choice as both practical and symbolic.

“It fits well that they are dressed in the Swedish flag; who should be dressed in the Swedish flag if not the royal family?” the researcher said.

READ MORE: Why does secular Sweden have so many religious public holidays?

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