Sweden’s Christmas traditions
Food: As you might expect from Sweden, the Christmas dinner table is a julbord (jule smorgasbord) that includes many different dishes, particularly fish. There’s pickled herring, an egg and anchovy mixture known as gubbröra, and a dried fish dish lutefisk. You’ll also find hams, pork sausage and other accompaniments to be eaten with each part of the julbord.
Gifts: Christmas Eve sees the arrival of Jultomten with his gifts, so long as this small elf-like creature has been respected properly through the year. Traditionally he was a spirit who lived on a farmstead and helped take care of it, checking that the farming family treated their animals and their land well, though these days Jultomten is portrayed more like the common image of Santa Claus.
Christmas quirk: While a more modern tradition, the famous Ice Hotel is a fixture of Sweden’s winter festive period. Made new every year from the frozen waters of the Torne River, the hotel is entirely constructed from ice and filled with intricate sculptures and carvings. Another annual Christmas sight to behold is Sweden’s Gävle Goat, positioned each year in central Gävle. Since its first appearance in 1966, the structure, made from straw and standing at 13 metres tall, continues to attract attention from visitors to the South and even has its own social media profile!
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