When is swedens christmas

Iceland has many age-old traditions during Christmastime, including the arrival of 13 Icelandic Santa Clauses. The origin of these Santas is centuries old, and each has a name, character, and role. Known as jolasveinar, or the "Yuletide Lads," the Santas are the children of Gryla, a mean old woman who drags off naughty children and supposedly boils them alive.

Her husband, Leppaluoi, is not quite as mean. In the modern era, these characters have been softened a bit to be less frightening. Children in Iceland put shoes in their windows from December 12 until Christmas Eve. If they have been good, one of the jolasveinar leaves a gift. Bad children can expect to receive a potato. Shops are open until p. The main Christmas celebration takes place on Christmas Eve, including the gift exchange. To express "Merry Christmas" in Icelandic, greet others by saying Gleoileg jol.

Apart from shopping, there are also hot food and drinks, horse-drawn carriage rides, and live music to keep you entertained. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads.

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Share Pin Email. Continue to 5 of 5 below. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Tell us why! The celebration comes from stories that were told by Monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden.

St Lucia was a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith, in The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to the persecuted Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucy means 'light' so this is a very appropriate name. December 13th was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old 'Julian' Calendar and a pagan festival of lights in Sweden was turned into St.

Lucia's Day. Lucia's Day is now celebrated by a girl dressing in a white dress with a red sash round her waist and a crown of candles on her head.

Small children use electric candles but from about 12 years old, real candles are often used! The crown is made of Lingonberry branches which are evergreen and symbolise new life in winter. Schools normally have their own St.

Lucia's and some town and villages also choose a girl to play St. Lucia in a procession where carols are sung. A national Lucia is also chosen.

Lucias also visit hospitals and old people's homes singing a song about St Lucia and handing out 'Pepparkakor', ginger snap biscuits. Small children sometimes like dressing up as Lucia with the help of their parents! A popular food eaten at St. Lucia's day are 'Lussekatts', St Lucia's day buns flavored with saffron and dotted with raisins which are eaten for breakfast.

St Lucia's Day first became widely celebrated in Sweden in the late s. In Denmark it is more a of a children's day and in some part of Italy, children are told that St Lucy brings them presents.

They leave out a sandwich for her and the donkey that helps carry the gifts! In Sweden, kids and grown-ups wait until the sun sets on Christmas Eve before seeing what Santa left them underneath the tree never in stockings hung above the fireplace with care. No store-bought tags for those crafty Swedes. Hmmm… what rhymes with cashmere sweater , we wonder?

Kitschy and sweet? You bet. You may be familiar with the Swedish concept of smorgasbord, and on Christmas Eve Swedes celebrate with a julbord. Fish features heavily smoked salmon, pickled herring and lye-fish , plus ham, sausages, ribs, cabbage, potatoes and of course, meatballs.

On January 13th St. Knut's Day , families take down the decorations and dance around the Christmas tree, before tossing it out the window. They also finish eating any remaining Christmas treats. Maybe just check with your co-op before throwing your tree out.

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