Every culture has its own unique holidays and traditions, but one of the most interesting cultural holidays is St Knut’s Day, also known as the Feast of St Knut, a traditional holiday celebrated on January 13th in the European countries of Sweden, Finland, and (to a lesser extent) Norway. St Knut’s Day is celebrated annually and usually marks the end of the Christmas season with a feast. The origins of St Knut’s Day stem as far back as the year 1131: though celebrated in Sweden and Finland, St Knut’s Day actually has its origins in Denmark. Canute Lavard (also known as Knut Lavard in Swedish) was a Danish prince born in 1096, the only legitimate son of King Eric I of Denmark, which gave him a direct path to the throne once his father passed. Lavard worked tirelessly as the Duke of Schleswig: it is said that he was able to bring peace to this region after many decades of war and strife. He was also able to protect it by fighting Vikings who came to raid the area and by eliminating any other intruders to the region. Fearing Lavard growing any more powerful, King Niels sent his sons to murder Lavard in Haraldsted Skov, a popular forest in Denmark. The murder of Canute Lavard on January 7th 1131 AD, in Denmark, led to the celebrations of St Knut’s Day across Scandinavia but especially in Sweden and Finland. Lavard’s half-brother, Eric Emune, and the people of Schleswig were enraged over his murder: tensions were so high that soon after Lavard’s murder, a civil war broke out over his death, started by Emune.
In the process of this civil war, Canute Lavard was declared as a St, and St Knut’s Day was celebrated on January 7th for several hundred years. As time passed, some groups began to correlate Knut’s name with the Epiphany, a Christian holiday also known as Three Kings’ Day or “Little Christmas,” which was fitting given Lavard’s known religious beliefs: Epiphany was originally celebrated for eight days, between January 6th and January 13th. Because of this, it was decided in 1680 that St Knut’s Day would be moved to January 13th and be celebrated as the “twentieth day of Christmas.” Though the holiday is not as celebrated throughout Sweden, Finland, and Norway as it once was, St Knut’s Day has not died out just yet. In private homes but also in schools, kindergartens, churches there is often a party, mainly for children: the Christmas decorations are put aside. In many towns, the illumination of the public Christmas tree is switched off, accompanied by an outdoor Knut’s dance for the community. In some areas the feast is known as ‘Julgransskakning’ (‘Shaking the Christmas tree’) and party activities involve singing and dancing around the Christmas tree, “looting” the tree of ornamental candy and apples, smashing the gingerbread house into pieces and eating it, opening Christmas crackers that have been used as decorations in the tree, lotteries, creating a fiskdamm (“fishing pond”) where children will “fish” for toys and candy or a treasure hunt.
The songs and dances are essentially the same as those performed at Christmas and Midsummer, and some songs with verses about the end of Christmas, such as Raska fötter springa tripp, tripp, tripp, may especially emphasize such verses. During the 20th century, Christmas trees were literally thrown out of the window or from the balcony, onto the street once they had been “plundered” and stripped of all ornaments. Since the beginning of the 21st century, areas for dumping the trees are designated by local authorities but in 2015, spontaneous and illegal dumping grounds were still a problem. In many areas across Europe, the holiday and its traditions are still going strong. With this, it is possible that the holiday could pick up speed and become more popular once again. It could even evolve further and develop new traditions involving children, families, and communities over time. Regardless, St Knut’s Day lives on for many and will be passed down as a beloved holiday tradition for many.
