The region of Scandinavia, comprising Norway, Sweden and Denmark, shares its cultural traditions, and even the word for Christmas, “Jul”, is the same in all three languages (Norwegian, Swedish and Danish).
Swedish Christmas
In Sweden, the Christmas season officially begins on 13 December, with the celebration of St. Lucia: children dress all in white, adorned with head wreaths and candles, and sing angelic hymns at these beautiful ceremonies. A young woman, the “Lucia bride”, is at the centre with a crown of candles atop her head. Though stemming from the Lutheran Church, St. Lucia day coincides with the winter solstice of the old “Julian” pagan calendar: the event symbolises the return of the light and new life in winter.
Danish Christmas
In Denmark, the seasonal focus is on ‘hygge’, a sense of ‘winter cosy’ (candles, twinkling lights, hot beverages and a ‘warm’ home) that, just like ‘fika’ in Sweden, doesn’t have an exact translation in English. There are further reasons to love Denmark in winter: town squares and shopping streets are rich in Christmas trees, garland and fairy lights that punctuate the winter darkness, and one can visit enchanting Christmas markets in cities like Copenhagen or Odense.
Norwegian Christmas
In Norway, 23 December is ‘Lille Julaften’ (“Little Christmas Eve”), the day when Norwegian families decorate the tree together, tidy the house and bake gingerbread houses. The big celebrations come on Christmas Eve, or ‘Julaften’, rather than on 25 December: families enjoy a festive feast and sing carols together, around the tree.
Traditional Christmas food in Scandinavia
In Scandinavian countries, it’s not Christmas without a ‘julbord’, the traditional buffet. As Sweden, Norway and Denmark all have excellent seafood, you can tuck into a variety of pickled, spiced and marinated herring, but do not miss the different types of cold salmon, typically smoked or cured with dill seasoning. In Sweden, a main hot course is Christmas ham (‘julskinka’) or the classic ‘köttbullar’, better known as Swedish meatballs. In Denmark, the emphasis is more on pork dishes, its national speciality, warm liver patés with bacon and mushrooms in particular. In Norway, typical foods such as ‘pinnekjött’ (lamb ‘stick meat’) and ‘lutefisk’ (a lye-soaked whitefish with a pungent aroma) are classic additions to the Christmas table. This meal may be accompanied by beer and schnapps or wine, but another Yuletide treat in Scandinavia is glogg (‘gløgg’ in Norwegian and Danish, ‘glögg’ in Swedish), a mulled wine, infused with cinnamon and cardamon spices, typically served at small parties. Christmas in Scandinavian countries keeps going all the way until the Epiphany on 6 January, which is treated as a bank holiday.
